prick vs sting

prick

verb
  • To affect with sharp pain; to sting, as with remorse. 

  • To fix by the point; to attach or hang by puncturing. 

  • To aim at a point or mark. 

  • To incite, stimulate, goad. 

  • To shoot without killing. 

  • To make acidic or pungent. 

  • To drive a nail into (a horse's foot), so as to cause lameness. 

  • To become sharp or acid; to turn sour, as wine. 

  • To pierce or puncture slightly. 

  • To make or become sharp; to erect into a point; to raise, as something pointed; said especially of the ears of an animal, such as a horse or dog; and usually followed by up. 

  • To form by piercing or puncturing. 

  • To mark the surface of (something) with pricks or dots; especially, to trace a ship’s course on (a chart). 

  • Usually in the form prick out: to plant (seeds or seedlings) in holes made in soil at regular intervals. 

noun
  • An indentation or small mark made with a pointed object. 

  • A small pointed object. 

  • The experience or feeling of being pierced or punctured by a small, sharp object. 

  • The footprint of a hare. 

  • The penis. 

  • Someone (especially a man or boy) who is unpleasant, rude or annoying. 

  • A small roll of yarn or tobacco. 

  • A feeling of remorse. 

  • A small hole or perforation, caused by piercing. 

sting

verb
  • To hurt, to be in pain (physically or emotionally). 

  • To hurt, usually by introducing poison or a sharp point, or both. 

  • To puncture with the stinger. 

  • To cause harm or pain to. 

noun
  • A sharp, localised pain primarily on the epidermis 

  • A police operation in which the police pretend to be criminals in order to catch a criminal. 

  • The thrust of a sting into the flesh; the act of stinging; a wound inflicted by stinging. 

  • A puncture made by an insect or arachnid in an attack, usually including the injection of venom. 

  • A brief sequence of music used in films, TV, and video games as a form of scenic punctuation or to identify the broadcasting station. 

  • The harmful or painful part of something. 

  • A pointed portion of an insect or arachnid used for attack. 

  • A short percussive phrase played by a drummer to accent the punchline in a comedy show. 

  • A bump left on the skin after having been stung. 

  • A goad; incitement. 

  • A support for a wind tunnel model which extends parallel to the air flow. 

  • The concluding point of an epigram or other sarcastic saying. 

  • A sharp-pointed hollow hair seated on a gland which secretes an acrid fluid, as in nettles. 

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