ram vs shoehorn

ram

verb
  • To strike (something) hard, especially with an implement. 

  • To thrust during sexual intercourse. 

  • To fill or compact by pounding or driving. 

  • To collide with (an object), usually with the intention of damaging it or disabling its function. 

  • To seat a cartridge, projectile, or propellant charge in the breech of a firearm by pushing or striking. 

adj
  • Rancid; offensive in smell or taste. 

noun
  • A piston powered by hydraulic pressure. 

  • A weight which strikes a blow, in a ramming device such as a pile driver, steam hammer, or stamp mill. 

  • A reinforced section of the bow of a warship, intended to be used for ramming other ships. 

  • An act of ramming. 

  • A battering ram; a heavy object used for breaking through doors. 

  • A male sheep, typically uncastrated. 

  • A warship intended to sink other ships by ramming them. 

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