gig vs joke

gig

verb
  • To make a joke, often condescendingly, at the expense of (someone); to make fun of. 

  • To play (a musical instrument) at a gig. 

  • To catch or fish with a gig or fizgig. 

  • To work at any job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. 

  • Sometimes followed by it: to ride in a gig (“a two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse”). 

  • To spear (fish, etc.) with a gig or fizgig. 

  • To engage in a musical performance, act in a theatre production, etc. 

  • To impose a demerit (on someone) for an infraction of a military deportment or dress code. 

noun
  • A two-wheeled carriage drawn by a single horse. 

  • Originally (music), a performing engagement by a musician or musical group; (by extension, film, television, theater) a job or role for a performer. 

  • A demerit received for some infraction of a military deportment or dress code. 

  • Synonym of fishgig or fizgig (“a spear with a barb on the end of it, used for catching fish, frogs, or other small animals”). 

  • Any job, especially one that is freelance or temporary, or done on an on-demand basis. 

  • Any unit of measurement having the SI prefix giga-. 

  • A small, narrow, open boat carried in a larger ship, and used for transportation between the ship and the shore, another vessel, etc. 

  • A similar rowing boat or sailboat, especially one used for racing; specifically, a six-oared sea rowing boat commonly found in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 

joke

verb
  • To dupe in a friendly manner for amusement; to mess with, play with. 

  • To do or say something for amusement rather than seriously. 

noun
  • An amusing story. 

  • The root cause or main issue, especially an unexpected one 

  • A laughably worthless thing or person; a sham. 

  • Something that is far easier or far less challenging than expected. 

  • Something said or done for amusement, not in seriousness. 

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