gammon vs staple

gammon

noun
  • A rope fastening a bowsprit to the stem of a ship (usually called a gammoning). 

  • Backgammon (the game itself). 

  • A victory in backgammon achieved when the opponent has not borne off a single stone. 

  • A cut of quick-cured pork leg. 

  • A middle-aged or older right-wing, reactionary white man, or such men collectively. 

verb
  • To lash with ropes (on a ship). 

  • To cure bacon by salting. 

  • To beat by a gammon (without the opponent bearing off a stone). 

staple

noun
  • A wire fastener used to secure something else by penetrating and curling. 

  • A wire fastener used to secure stacks of paper by penetrating all the sheets and curling around. 

  • Unmanufactured material; raw material. 

  • One of a set of U-shaped metal rods hammered into a structure, such as a piling or wharf, which serve as a ladder. 

  • A basic or essential supply. 

  • A town containing merchants who have exclusive right, under royal authority, to purchase or produce certain goods for export; also, the body of such merchants seen as a group. 

  • A U-shaped metal fastener, used to attach fence wire or other material to posts or structures. 

  • A small pit. 

  • A district granted to an abbey. 

  • Place of supply; source. 

  • The principal commodity produced in a town or region. 

  • A recurring topic or character. 

  • A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels. 

  • Short fiber, as of cotton, sheep’s wool, or the like, which can be spun into yarn or thread. 

verb
  • To sort according to its staple. 

  • To secure with a staple. 

adj
  • Fit to be sold; marketable. 

  • Relating to, or being market of staple for, commodities. 

  • Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled. 

  • Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief. 

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