flame vs smother

flame

noun
  • flame 

  • The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat. 

  • A brilliant reddish orange-gold fiery colour. 

  • A romantic partner or lover in a usually short-lived but passionate affair. 

  • The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the curl. 

  • Burning zeal, passion, imagination, excitement, or anger. 

adj
  • Of a brilliant reddish orange-gold colour, like that of a flame. 

verb
  • To produce flames; to burn with a flame or blaze. 

  • To burst forth like flame; to break out in violence of passion; to be kindled with zeal or ardour. 

  • To post a destructively critical or abusive message (to somebody). 

smother

noun
  • Smoldering; slow combustion. 

  • Cookware used in such cooking. 

  • The act of smothering a kick (see verb section). 

verb
  • to burn very slowly for want of air; smolder. 

  • To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less completely, the respiration of something or someone. 

  • To reduce to a low degree of vigor or activity; suppress or do away with; extinguish 

  • To cook in a close dish. 

  • To extinguish or deaden, as fire, by covering, overlaying, or otherwise excluding the air. 

  • To get in the way of a kick of the ball, preventing it going very far. When a player is kicking the ball, an opponent who is close enough will reach out with his hands and arms to get over the top of it, so the ball hits his hands after leaving the kicker's boot, dribbling away. 

  • To be suffocated. 

  • to perish, grow feeble, or decline, by suppression or concealment; be stifled; be suppressed or concealed. 

  • To get in the way of a kick of the ball. 

  • To breathe with great difficulty by reason of smoke, dust, close covering or wrapping, or the like. 

  • To prevent the development of an opponent's attack by one's arm positioning. 

  • To daub or smear. 

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