exception vs rule

exception

noun
  • The act of excepting or excluding; exclusion; restriction by taking out something which would otherwise be included, as in a class, statement, rule. 

  • An objection; cavil; dissent; disapprobation; offense; cause of offense; — usually followed by to or against. 

  • An objection, on legal grounds; also, as in conveyancing, a clause by which the grantor excepts or reserves something before the right is transferred. 

  • An interruption in normal processing, typically caused by an error condition, that can be raised ("thrown") by one part of the program and handled ("caught") by another part. 

  • That which is excluded from others; a person, thing, or case, specified as distinct, or not included. 

rule

noun
  • A regulation, law, guideline. 

  • A determinate method prescribed for performing any operation and producing a certain result. 

  • A regulating principle. 

  • A ruler; device for measuring, a straightedge, a measure. 

  • A normal condition or state of affairs. 

  • An order regulating the practice of the courts, or an order made between parties to an action or a suit. 

  • A straight line (continuous mark, as made by a pen or the like), especially one lying across a paper as a guide for writing. 

  • The act of ruling; administration of law; government; empire; authority; control. 

verb
  • To establish or settle by, or as by, a rule; to fix by universal or general consent, or by common practice. 

  • To regulate, be in charge of, make decisions for, reign over. 

  • To decide judicially. 

  • To mark (paper or the like) with rules (lines). 

  • To excel. 

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