bow vs flipper

bow

noun
  • A gesture, usually showing respect, made by inclining the head or bending forward at the waist; a reverence 

  • Any instrument consisting of an elastic rod, with ends connected by a string, employed for giving reciprocating motion to a drill, or for preparing and arranging hair, fur, etc., used by hatters. 

  • The part of a key that is not inserted into the lock and that is used to turn the key. 

  • The U-shaped piece which goes around the neck of an ox and fastens it to the yoke. 

  • A curved bend in a rod or planar surface, or in a linear formation such as a river (see oxbow). 

  • A crude sort of quadrant formerly used for taking the sun's altitude at sea. 

  • Two pieces of wood which form the arched forward part of a saddletree. 

  • A type of knot with two loops, used to tie together two cords such as shoelaces or apron strings, and frequently used as decoration, such as in gift-wrapping. 

  • Anything bent or curved, such as a rainbow. 

  • The front of a boat or ship. 

  • A weapon made of a curved piece of wood or other flexible material whose ends are connected by a string, used for shooting arrows. 

  • Either of the arms of a pair of spectacles, running from the side of the lens to behind the wearer's ear. 

  • The rower that sits in the seat closest to the bow of the boat. 

  • A stringed instrument (chordophone), consisting of a stick with a single taut cord stretched between the ends, most often played by plucking. 

  • A rod with horsehair (or an artificial substitute) stretched between the ends, used for playing various stringed musical instruments. 

verb
  • To become bent or curved. 

  • To defer (to something). 

  • To give a direction, indication, or command to by bowing. 

  • To play music on (a stringed) instrument using a bow. 

  • To make something bend or curve. 

  • To exercise powerful or controlling influence over; to bend, figuratively; to turn; to incline. 

  • To debut. 

  • To bend oneself as a gesture of respect or deference. 

flipper

noun
  • Someone who flips in any other sense, for example throwing a coin. 

  • Television remote control, clicker. 

  • A type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce. 

  • A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play. 

  • A kind of false tooth, usually temporary. 

  • A small flat used to support a larger one. 

  • Someone who flips, in the sense of buying a house or other asset and selling it quickly for profit. 

  • In marine mammals such as whales, a wide flat limb, adapted for swimming. 

  • A flat, wide, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming. 

  • A kitchen spatula. 

verb
  • To lift one or both flippers out of the water and slap the surface of the water. 

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