deal with vs take up the cudgels

deal with

verb
  • To take action with respect to (someone or something). 

  • To be in charge of, act on, or dispose of. 

  • To behave in a certain way towards. 

  • To consider, as an example. 

  • To handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject. 

  • To come to terms with; to overcome any difficulties presented by. 

take up the cudgels

verb
  • to make a defence for someone or something; to intercede supportively. 

  • To engage in a contest. 

How often have the words deal with and take up the cudgels occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )