apply vs shoehorn

apply

verb
  • To put to use; to use or employ for a particular purpose, or in a particular case 

  • To pertain or be relevant to a specified individual or group. 

  • To make use of, declare, or pronounce, as suitable, fitting, or relative 

  • To address; to refer; generally used reflexively. 

  • To lay or place; to put (one thing to another) 

  • To put closely; to join; to engage and employ diligently, or with attention 

  • To submit oneself as a candidate (with the adposition "to" designating the recipient of the submission, and the adposition "for" designating the position). 

shoehorn

verb
  • To force (something) into (a tight space); to squeeze (something) into (a schedule, etc); to exert great effort to insert or include (something); to include (something) despite potent reasons not to. 

  • To use a shoehorn. 

  • To force some current event into alignment with some (usually unconnected) agenda, especially when it is fallacious. 

noun
  • A smooth tool that assists in putting the foot into a shoe, by sliding the heel in after the toe is in place. This reduces discomfort and damage to the back of the shoe. By slipping it into the back of the shoe behind the heel, the user prevents the heel from squashing down the back of the shoe and causing difficulty; instead the heel slides down the smooth shoehorn, which then comes out easily once the foot is in place. 

  • Anything by which a transaction is facilitated; a medium. 

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