gnarl vs rough-and-tumble

gnarl

adj
  • Gnarled, knotty, twisted. 

verb
  • To knot or twist something. 

  • To snarl or growl; to gnar. 

noun
  • A knot in wood; a large or hard knot, or a protuberance with twisted grain, on a tree. 

  • Something resembling a knot in wood, such as in stone or limbs. 

rough-and-tumble

adj
  • active, vigorous and rough, with the possibility of harm 

  • highly competitive 

verb
  • Engage in rough-and-tumble activity 

noun
  • An environment of rough activity 

  • Rough activity; fighting or brawling; a fight. 

  • A person who characteristically engages in such activity 

How often have the words gnarl and rough-and-tumble occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )