noodle vs palooka

noodle

noun
  • The brain; the head. 

  • A string or flat strip of pasta or other dough, usually cooked (at least initially) by boiling, and served in soup or in a dry form mixed with a sauce and other ingredients. 

  • An improvised passage of music played on an instrument; also, a series of ornamental notes played on an instrument; a trill. 

  • An object which is long and thin like a noodle (sense 1). 

verb
  • To play (a musical instrument or passage of music) or to sing (a passage of music) in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play (a series of ornamental notes) on an instrument. 

  • To clear extraneous material from (an opal). 

  • To ponder or think, especially in an unproductive or unsystematic manner; to muse. 

  • To play a musical instrument or to sing in an improvisatory or lighthearted manner; also, to play a series of ornamental notes on an instrument. 

  • To search mullock for opals; to fossick. 

  • To hum or sing (a tune) at a low pitch or volume. 

  • To engage in frivolous behaviour; to fool around or waste time. 

  • Often followed by about or around: to mess around, to play. 

  • To search (mullock (“mining or ore processing waste”)) for opals. 

  • To catch (fish (usually very large catfish), turtles, or other aquatic animals) with the hands; also, to catch (fish) using a gaff or fishing spear; to gaff. 

  • To obtain (an opal) by searching through mullock. 

  • To attempt in an informal or uncertain manner; to fiddle. 

  • To ponder or think about (something). 

palooka

noun
  • A stupid, oafish or clumsy person. 

  • Someone incompetent or untalented. 

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