horseshoe vs shoehorn

horseshoe

noun
  • The U-shaped shoe of a horse, now typically made of metal; by extension, a representation of this used to play the game horseshoes, hung as a luck charm, etc. 

  • The U shape of a horseshoe. 

  • The symbol ⊃. 

  • An open-faced sandwich originating from Springfield, Illinois, consisting of thick-sliced toasted bread, often Texas toast, a hamburger patty, French fries, and a cheese sauce. 

  • A well-developed set of triceps brachii muscles. 

verb
  • To apply horseshoes to (a horse). 

shoehorn

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. 

verb
  • To use a shoehorn. 

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

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