muddle vs snarl

muddle

verb
  • To mix together, to mix up; to confuse. 

  • To dabble in mud. 

  • To mash slightly for use in a cocktail. 

  • To think and act in a confused, aimless way. 

  • To cloud or stupefy; to render stupid with liquor; to intoxicate partially. 

  • To make turbid or muddy. 

  • To waste or misuse, as one does who is stupid or intoxicated. 

noun
  • A mixture of crushed ingredients, as prepared with a muddler. 

  • A mixture; a confusion; a garble. 

snarl

verb
  • To entangle; to complicate; to involve in knots. 

  • To be congested in traffic, or to make traffic congested. 

  • To speak crossly; to talk in rude, surly terms. 

  • To growl angrily by gnashing or baring the teeth; to gnarl; to utter grumbling sounds. 

  • To become entangled. 

  • To place in an embarrassing situation; to ensnare; to make overly complicated. 

  • To form raised work upon the outer surface of (thin metal ware) by the repercussion of a snarling iron upon the inner surface. 

  • To complain angrily; to utter growlingly. 

noun
  • A slow-moving traffic jam. 

  • A squabble. 

  • A knot or complication of hair, thread, or the like, difficult to disentangle. 

  • An intricate complication; a problematic difficulty; a knotty or tangled situation. 

  • A growl, for example that of an angry or surly dog, or similar; grumbling sounds. 

  • The act of snarling; a growl; a surly or peevish expression; an angry contention. 

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