hiccup vs hurdle

hiccup

verb
  • To say with a hiccup. 

  • To produce an abortive sound like a hiccup. 

  • To produce a hiccup; have the hiccups. 

noun
  • Any spasm or sudden change. 

  • A spasm of the diaphragm, or the resulting sound. 

  • A minor setback. 

hurdle

verb
  • To overcome an obstacle. 

  • To compete in the track and field events of hurdles (e.g. high hurdles). 

  • To jump over something while running. 

  • To hedge, cover, make, or enclose with hurdles. 

noun
  • An artificial barrier, variously constructed, over which athletes or horses jump in a race. 

  • An obstacle, real or perceived, physical or abstract. 

  • A movable frame of wattled twigs, osiers, or withes and stakes, or sometimes of iron, used for enclosing land, for folding sheep and cattle, for gates, etc.; also, in fortification, used as revetments, and for other purposes. 

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