foray vs take up the cudgels

foray

verb
  • To participate in a foray. 

  • To do or attempt something outside one's typical area of expertise. 

noun
  • A brief excursion or attempt, especially outside one's accustomed sphere. 

  • A sudden or irregular incursion in border warfare; hence, any irregular incursion for war or spoils; a raid. 

take up the cudgels

verb
  • To engage in a contest. 

  • to make a defence for someone or something; to intercede supportively. 

How often have the words foray and take up the cudgels occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )