deflect vs sidetrack

deflect

verb
  • To divert (attention, etc.). 

  • To touch the ball, often unwittingly, after a shot or a sharp pass, thereby making it unpredictable for the other players. 

  • To make (something) deviate from its original path. 

  • To avoid addressing (questions, criticism, etc.). 

  • To deviate from its original path. 

sidetrack

verb
  • To divert or distract (someone) from a main issue or course of action with an alternate or less relevant topic or activity; or, to use deliberate trickery or sly wordplay when talking to (a person) in order to avoid discussion of a subject. 

  • To deviate briefly from the topic at hand. 

  • To sideline; to push aside; to divert or distract from, reducing (something) to a secondary or subordinate position. 

  • To divert (a locomotive or train) on to a lesser used track in order to allow other trains to pass. 

noun
  • An alternate train of thought, issue, topic, or activity, that is a deviation or distraction from the topic at hand or central activity, and secondary or subordinate in importance or effectiveness. 

  • A second, relatively short length of track just to the side of a railroad track, joined to the main track by switches at one or both ends, used either for unloading freight, or to allow two trains on a same track to meet (opposite directions) or pass (same direction); a railroad siding. 

  • Any auxiliary railroad track, as differentiated from a siding, that runs adjacent to the main track. 

  • A smaller tunnel or well drilled as an auxiliary off a main tunnel or well. 

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