scorch vs scud

scorch

verb
  • To attack with bitter sarcasm or virulence. 

  • To wither, parch or destroy something by heat or fire, especially to make land or buildings unusable to an enemy 

  • To move at high speed (so as to leave scorch marks on the ground, physically or figuratively). 

  • To burn; to destroy by, or as by, fire. 

  • (To cause) to become scorched or singed 

  • To burn the surface of something so as to discolour it 

noun
  • A slight or surface burn. 

  • Brown discoloration on the leaves of plants caused by heat, lack of water or by fungi. 

  • A discolouration caused by heat. 

scud

verb
  • To hit or slap. 

  • To race along swiftly (especially used of clouds). 

  • To skim flat stones so they skip along the water. 

  • To speed. 

  • To run, or be driven, before a high wind with no sails set. 

noun
  • The drink Irn-Bru. 

  • A gust of wind. 

  • A loose formation of small ragged cloud fragments (or fog) not attached to a larger higher cloud layer. 

  • A swift runner. 

  • The act of scudding. 

  • A form of garden hoe. 

  • Any swimming amphipod. 

  • A scab on a wound. 

  • A small flight of larks, or other birds, less than a flock. 

  • Pornography. 

  • A slap; a sharp stroke. 

  • Clouds or rain driven by the wind. 

adj
  • Naked. 

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