bottle vs mettle

bottle

noun
  • (originally "bottle and glass" as rhyming slang for "arse") Nerve, courage. 

  • A container, typically made of glass or plastic and having a tapered neck, used primarily for holding liquids. 

  • A container with a rubber nipple used for giving liquids to infants, a baby bottle. 

  • The contents of such a container. 

  • A container of hair dye, hence with one’s hair color produced by dyeing. 

  • Intoxicating liquor; alcohol. 

  • A building; house. 

verb
  • Of pages printed several on a sheet: to rotate slightly when the sheet is folded two or more times. 

  • To refrain from doing (something) at the last moment because of a sudden loss of courage. 

  • To seal (a liquid) into a bottle for later consumption. Also fig. 

  • To throw away a leading position. 

  • To strike (someone) with a bottle. 

  • To pelt (a musical act on stage, etc.) with bottles as a sign of disapproval. 

  • To feed (an infant) baby formula. 

mettle

noun
  • A quality of endurance and courage. 

  • Good temperament and character. 

adj
  • Spirited, vigorous, stout-hearted. 

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