footman vs lap dog

footman

noun
  • A man in waiting; a male servant whose duties are to attend the door, the carriage, the table, etc. 

  • Coordinate term: footwoman 

  • especially, the common footman (Manulea lurideola) 

  • A bar that connects the treadle of a spinning wheel to the wheel. 

  • A metallic stand with four feet, for keeping anything warm before a fire. 

  • A servant who runs in front of his master's carriage. 

  • A moth of the family Arctiidae (or subfamily Arctiinae); -- so called from its livery-like colors. 

lap dog

noun
  • A person who behaves in a servile manner, such as a sycophantic employee or a fawning lover. 

  • A small toy dog, kept as household pet, whose light weight and companionable temperament make it both suited and disposed to spend time resting in the comfort of its master's lap; a dog bred to behave in this manner. 

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