grapevine vs innuendo

grapevine

noun
  • An informal person-to-person means of circulating information or gossip. 

  • A leglock. 

  • The plant, a vine of genus Vitis, on which grapes grow. 

  • A move in which the feet are alternately placed in front of each other, while both remaining on the ice or ground, incorporating half-turns. 

  • A rumor. 

verb
  • To restrain in a leglock. 

innuendo

noun
  • Part of a pleading in cases of libel and slander, pointing out what and who was meant by the libellous matter or description. 

  • She made a devious innuendo about her husband, who was embarrassed. 

  • A derogatory hint or reference to a person or thing. An implication, intimation or insinuation. 

  • A rhetorical device with an omitted, but obvious conclusion, made to increase the force of an argument. 

verb
  • To interpret (something libellous or slanderous) in terms of what was implied. 

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