excuse me vs say what

excuse me

phrase
  • Said, as though as a request to repeat information, in order to indicate disbelief or indignation. 

  • Said as an expression of unexpected or early farewell. 

  • Said as a request for an individual's attention. 

  • Said as a request to pass somebody. 

  • Sorry, as an apology. 

  • Said as a request to repeat information. 

noun
  • An old-fashioned type of dance where partners are constantly changed. 

say what

phrase
  • What did you say?; Huh?; expresses incredulity. 

How often have the words excuse me and say what occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )