give the axe vs terminate

give the axe

verb
  • To fire (dismiss from employment) 

terminate

verb
  • To end the employment contract of an employee; to fire, lay off. 

  • Of a mode of transport, to end its journey; or, of a railway line, to reach its terminus. 

  • To conclude. 

  • To end, conclude, or cease; to come to an end. 

  • To set or be a limit or boundary to. 

  • To kill someone or something. 

  • To issue or result. 

  • To end something, especially when left in an incomplete state. 

adj
  • Having a definite and clear limit or boundary; having a determinate size, shape or magnitude. 

  • Terminated; limited; bounded; ended. 

  • Expressible in a finite number of terms; (of a decimal) not recurring or infinite. 

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