gripe vs stretcher

gripe

noun
  • The piece of timber that terminates the keel at the fore end; the forefoot. 

  • A wire rope, often used on davits and other life raft launching systems. 

  • A complaint, often a petty or trivial one. 

  • The compass or sharpness of a ship's stern under the water, having a tendency to make her keep a good wind. 

  • Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines. 

  • An assemblage of ropes, dead-eyes, and hocks, fastened to ringbolts in the deck, to secure the boats when hoisted. 

verb
  • To suffer griping pains. 

  • To tend to come up into the wind, as a ship which, when sailing close-hauled, requires constant labour at the helm. 

  • To annoy or bother. 

  • To complain; to whine. 

stretcher

noun
  • A piece of timber used in building. 

  • One who, or that which, stretches. 

  • One of the rods in an umbrella, attached at one end to one of the ribs, and at the other to the tube sliding upon the handle. 

  • A simple litter designed to carry a sick, injured, or dead person. 

  • A frame on which a canvas is stretched for painting. 

  • A lie; an overstretching of the truth. 

  • A board against which a rower places his feet. 

  • A device to stretch shoes or gloves. 

  • A brick laid with the longest side exposed (compare header). 

verb
  • To carry (an injured person) on a stretcher. 

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