free-for-all vs scrimmage

free-for-all

noun
  • Deathmatch, sometimes specifically one in which every player is pitted against all the others. 

  • Chaos; a chaotic situation lacking rules or control. 

adj
  • Open to anyone and with no or few rules. 

scrimmage

noun
  • In American football or Canadian football, a play that begins with a snap from the center while opposing teams are on either side of a line of scrimmage. 

  • A rough fight. 

  • In some team sports, especially soccer, a practice game which does not count on a team's record. 

verb
  • To have, or be involved in, a scrimmage. 

How often have the words free-for-all and scrimmage occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )