hold the line vs plod

hold the line

verb
  • To firmly maintain one's viewpoint, principles, or situation; to refuse to change one's practices or plans. 

plod

verb
  • To toil; to drudge; especially, to study laboriously and patiently. 

  • To walk or move slowly and heavily or laboriously (+ on, through, over). 

  • To trudge over or through. 

noun
  • A slow or labored walk or other motion or activity. 

  • the police, police officers 

  • a police officer, especially a low-ranking one. 

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