backfire vs prang

backfire

noun
  • A premature explosion in the cylinder of a gas or oil engine during the exhaust or the compression stroke, tending to drive the piston in the wrong direction. 

  • An explosion in other equipment. 

  • An explosion in the exhaust passages of an internal combustion engine. 

verb
  • To fail in a manner that brings down further misfortune. 

  • To fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel. 

  • To experience a premature ignition of fuel or an ignition of exhaust gases, making a popping sound. 

prang

noun
  • An accident involving a motor vehicle, typically minor and without casualties. 

  • A type of tower or spire featured in some Buddhist temples of Cambodia and Thailand. 

  • Crack cocaine. 

verb
  • To crash; to have an accident while controlling a vehicle. 

  • To damage (the vehicle one is driving) in an accident; to have a minor collision with (another motor vehicle). 

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