brain vs grey matter

brain

noun
  • A part of the brain, especially associated with particular mental functions, abilities, etc. 

  • Mind. 

  • A loose compartment of a backpack that straps on over the top opening. 

  • An intellectual or mental capacity. 

  • A person who provides the intelligence required for something. 

  • By analogy with a human brain, the part of a machine or computer that performs calculations. 

  • Oral sex. 

  • An intelligent person. 

  • Intellect. 

  • The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action. 

verb
  • To strike (someone) on the head. 

  • To destroy; to put an end to. 

  • To dash out the brains of; to kill by smashing the skull. 

grey matter

noun
  • Brains; a person's ability to think. 

  • A collection of cell bodies and (usually) dendritic connections, in contrast to white matter. 

  • Literal brains as a general substance. 

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