mop up vs percolate

mop up

verb
  • To clean up (liquid) with a mop, rag, sponge, or other cleaning device. 

  • After they argued, it fell to me to talk to her and try to mop up. 

  • To win a competition decisively. 

  • To get rid of (enemies) within a certain area. 

  • To clean up an area destroyed by a natural disaster or by violent activity. 

  • To pitch the final innings especially of a game that is no longer close. 

  • To consume or get rid of an excess of something. 

  • To finish something off; to apply a finishing touch 

  • To fix problems; to correct or repair. 

  • To absorb the leftovers of a dish with bread etc., in order to eat them. 

percolate

verb
  • To drain or seep through a porous substance. 

  • To pass a liquid through a porous substance; to filter. 

  • To make (coffee) in a percolator. 

  • To spread slowly or gradually; to slowly become noticed or realised. 

noun
  • A liquid that has been percolated. 

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