grip vs pair of compasses

grip

noun
  • A handle or other place to grip. 

  • A person responsible for handling equipment on the set. 

  • An apparatus attached to a car for clutching a traction cable. 

  • A lot of something. 

  • A small travelling-bag or gripsack. 

  • A helpful, interesting, admirable, or inspiring person. 

  • Control, power or mastery over someone or something; a tenacious grasp; a holding fast. 

  • A channel cut through a grass verge (especially for the purpose of draining water away from the highway). 

  • A hold or way of holding, particularly with the hand. 

  • A long time. 

  • As much as one can hold in a hand; a handful. 

  • A small ditch or trench; a channel to carry off water or other liquid; a drain. 

  • A device for grasping or holding fast to something. 

  • Assistance; help or encouragement. 

  • A visual component on a window etc. enabling it to be resized and/or moved. 

verb
  • Of an emotion or situation: to have a strong effect upon. 

  • To firmly hold the attention of. 

  • To take hold of, particularly with the hand. 

  • To trench; to drain. 

pair of compasses

noun
  • A tool for drawing accurate circles or arches, usually consisting of two arms joined at one end in such a way that the arms can be opened and closed; one of the arms is pointed at its free end while the other holds a pencil, pencil lead or some other implement for making marks. 

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