out on a limb vs protected

out on a limb

phrase
  • In a risky, precarious, daring, or uncompromising position, especially one outside of the mainstream; vulnerable. 

protected

adj
  • Having the protected access modifier, indicating that a program element is accessible to subclasses but not to the program in general. 

  • defended 

How often have the words out on a limb and protected occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )