blockhead vs palooka

blockhead

noun
  • A stupid person. 

  • A sideshow performer who hammers nails or similar items through his or her nostril into the nasal cavity; human blockhead. 

verb
  • To perform as a human blockhead. 

  • To behave in a stupid manner. 

palooka

noun
  • A stupid, oafish or clumsy person. 

  • Someone incompetent or untalented. 

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