dead-end vs hobble

dead-end

noun
  • A position that offers no hope of progress. 

  • A road with no exit. 

verb
  • To come to a dead-end. 

adj
  • Going nowhere; blocked. 

hobble

noun
  • An unsteady, off-balance step. 

  • One of the short straps tied between the legs of unfenced horses, allowing them to wander short distances but preventing them from running off. 

  • An odd job; a piece of casual work. 

verb
  • To move roughly or irregularly. 

  • To perplex; to embarrass. 

  • To walk lame, or unevenly. 

  • To fetter by tying the legs; to restrict (a horse) with hobbles. 

How often have the words dead-end and hobble occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )