in fits and starts vs intermittent

in fits and starts

prep
  • intermittently, jerkily 

intermittent

adj
  • Existing only for certain seasons; that is, being dry for part of the year. 

  • Stopping and starting, occurring, or presenting at intervals; coming after a particular time span. 

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