drudge vs hack

drudge

noun
  • Someone who works for (and may be taken advantage of by) someone else. 

  • A person who works in a low servile job. 

verb
  • To labour in (or as in) a low servile job. 

hack

noun
  • Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary. 

  • A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to continuously act with the ulterior motive of furthering their political career. 

  • An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date; a workaround. 

  • A try, an attempt. 

  • The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery. 

  • A trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease. 

  • A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state. 

  • A hacking blow. 

  • An improvised device or solution to a problem. 

  • A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough. 

  • A taxicab (hackney cab) driver. 

  • A hearse. 

  • A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack. 

  • A dry cough. 

  • A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney coach, now typically a taxicab. 

  • A kick on the shins in football of any type. 

  • A tool for chopping. 

  • A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired. 

  • The act of striking an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc. 

  • A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained. 

  • A gouge or notch made by such a blow. 

  • Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches. 

  • A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features. 

  • A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming. 

  • A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter, particularly a choppy, ungraceful one that misses the ball such as at a fastball. 

  • One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.) 

  • A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language. 

  • An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming. 

  • A food-rack for cattle. 

  • An untalented writer. 

  • A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese. 

  • An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition. 

  • An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network. 

  • A grating in a mill race. 

  • Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment. 

  • A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work. 

  • A political agitator. 

verb
  • To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.). 

  • To use as a hack; to let out for hire. 

  • To chop or cut down in a rough manner. 

  • To kick (a player) on the shins. 

  • To swing at a pitched ball. 

  • To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace. 

  • To cheat by using unauthorized modifications. 

  • To work with something on an intimately technical level. 

  • To strike an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc. 

  • To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code. 

  • To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick. 

  • To withstand or put up with a difficult situation. 

  • To gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation). 

  • To strike in a frantic movement. 

  • To play hackeysack. 

  • To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry. 

  • To drive a hackney cab. 

  • To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease. 

  • To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained. 

  • To cough noisily. 

  • To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain. 

  • To accomplish a difficult programming task. 

  • To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage. 

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