drag someone's name through the mire vs libel

drag someone's name through the mire

libel

noun
  • The act or tort of displaying such a statement publicly. 

  • Any defamatory writing; a lampoon; a satire. 

  • A written declaration or statement by the plaintiff of their cause of action, and of the relief they seek. 

  • A brief writing of any kind, especially a declaration, bill, certificate, request, supplication, etc. 

  • A written or pictorial false statement which unjustly seeks to damage someone's reputation. 

verb
  • To proceed against (goods, a ship, etc.) by filing a libel claim. 

  • To defame (someone), especially in a manner that meets the legal definition of libel. 

How often have the words drag someone's name through the mire and libel occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )