flash in the pan vs passing

flash in the pan

noun
  • A career notable for early success not followed by significant accomplishment. 

  • A transient occurrence with no long-term effect. 

passing

noun
  • The act of passing a ball etc. to another player. 

  • A form of juggling where several people pass props between each other, usually clubs or rings. 

  • The ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category different from their own. 

  • The fact of going past; a movement from one place to another or a change from one state to another. 

  • Death, dying; the end of something. 

  • The act of approving a bill etc. 

adj
  • Vague, cursory. 

  • Going past. 

  • That passes away; ephemeral. 

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