rara avis vs spectacle

rara avis

noun
  • A rare species or type of bird. 

  • A rare or unique, and thus outstanding or unusual, person or thing; a rare bird. 

spectacle

noun
  • The brille of a snake. 

  • An embarrassing or unedifying scene or situation. 

  • A frame with different coloured lenses on a semaphore signal through which light from a lamp shines at night, often a part of the signal arm. 

  • An exciting or extraordinary scene, exhibition, performance etc. 

  • An optical instrument consisting of two lenses set in a light frame, worn to assist sight, or to protect the eyes from bright light. 

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