putter vs tinker

putter

noun
  • One who puts or places. 

  • A person who is taking a putt or putting. 

  • A shot-putter. 

  • A golf club specifically intended for a putt. 

  • One who pushes the small wagons in a coal mine. 

verb
  • To be active, but not excessively busy, at a task or a series of tasks. 

  • To produce intermittent bursts of sound in the course of operating. 

tinker

noun
  • Someone who repairs, or attempts repair, on anything mechanical, or who invents such devices; one who tinkers; a tinkerer. 

  • A bird, the razor-billed auk. 

  • A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster. 

  • An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal. 

  • The act of repair or invention. 

  • Any of various fish: chub mackerel, silverside, skate, or young mackerel about two years old. 

verb
  • To work as a tinker. 

  • To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner. 

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