claw vs scutch

claw

noun
  • A mechanical device resembling a claw, used for gripping or lifting. 

  • The pincer (chela) of a crustacean or other arthropod. 

  • A curved, pointed horny nail on each digit of the foot of a mammal, reptile, or bird. 

  • A slender appendage or process, formed like a claw, such as the base of petals of the pink. 

  • The act of catching a ball overhand. 

  • A human fingernail, particularly one extending well beyond the fingertip. 

  • A foot equipped with such. 

verb
  • To scratch or to tear at. 

  • To use the claws to climb. 

  • To perform a claw catch. 

  • To use the claws to seize, to grip. 

  • To move with one's fingertips. 

scutch

noun
  • A bricklayer's small picklike tool with two cutting edges (or prongs) for dressing stone or cutting and trimming bricks. 

  • The woody fibre of flax or hemp; the refuse of scutched flax or hemp. 

  • A tuft or clump of grass. 

  • A wooden implement shaped like a large knife used to separate the valuable fibres of flax or hemp by beating them and scraping from it the woody or coarse portions. 

verb
  • To separate the woody fibre from (flax, hemp, etc.) by beating; to swingle. 

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