play to the crowd vs pontificate

play to the crowd

verb
  • Synonym of play to the gallery 

pontificate

verb
  • To speak in a patronizing, supercilious or pompous manner, especially at length. 

  • To preside as a bishop, especially at mass. 

  • To act like a pontiff; to express one's position or opinions dogmatically and pompously as if they were absolutely correct. 

noun
  • The status or term of office of a pontiff or pontifex. 

How often have the words play to the crowd and pontificate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )