elbow vs shoehorn

elbow

verb
  • To nudge, jostle or push. 

  • To make someone quit or lose their job so that someone else can get it. 

  • To push with the elbow or elbows; to forge ahead using the elbows to assist. 

noun
  • The joint between the upper arm and the forearm. 

  • Part of a basketball court located at the intersection of the free-throw line and the free-throw lane. 

  • Any turn or bend like that of the elbow, in a wall, building, coastline, etc.; an angular or jointed part of any structure, such as the raised arm of a chair or sofa, or a short pipe fitting, turning at an angle or bent. 

  • A hit with the elbow. 

  • Two nearby crossings of a rope. 

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 elbow and shoehorn occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )