curb vs riff

curb

verb
  • To crouch; to cringe. 

  • To rein in. 

  • To bend or curve. 

  • To furnish with a curb, as a well; to restrain by a curb, as a bank of earth. 

  • To damage vehicle wheels or tires by running into or over a pavement curb. 

  • To check, restrain or control. 

  • To bring to a stop beside a curb. 

noun
  • Something that checks or restrains; a restraint. 

  • A swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse, just behind the lowest part of the hock joint, generally causing lameness. 

  • A concrete margin along the edge of a road; a kerb (UK, Australia, New Zealand) 

  • A riding or driving bit for a horse that has rein action which amplifies the pressure in the mouth by leverage advantage placing pressure on the poll via the crown piece of the bridle and chin groove via a curb chain. 

  • A sidewalk, covered or partially enclosed, bordering the airport terminal road system with adjacent paved areas to permit vehicles to off-load or load passengers. 

  • A raised margin along the edge of something, such as a well or the eye of a dome, as a strengthening. 

riff

verb
  • To riffle. 

  • To improvise in the performance or practice of an art, especially by expanding on or making novel use of traditional themes. 

noun
  • A spoof. 

  • A clever or witty remark. 

  • Listen to one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time! 

  • A variation on something. 

  • A repeated instrumental melody line in a song. 

How often have the words curb and riff occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )