settle vs shoehorn

settle

verb
  • To place or arrange in(to) a desired (especially: calm) state, or make final disposition of (something). 

  • To sink gradually to a lower level; to subside, for example the foundation of a house, etc. 

  • To silence, especially by force. 

  • To colonize (an area); to migrate to (a land, territory, site, etc). 

  • To conclude a lawsuit by agreement of the parties rather than a decision of a court. 

  • To sink to the bottom of a body of liquid, as dregs of a liquid, or the sediment of a reservoir. 

  • To become stationary or fixed; to come to rest. 

  • To determine (something which was exposed to doubt or question); to resolve conclusively; to set or fix (a time, an order of succession, etc). 

  • To become married, or a householder. 

  • To cause to no longer be in a disturbed, confused or stormy; to quiet; to calm (nerves, waters, a boisterous or rebellious child, etc). 

  • To kill. 

  • To become firm, dry, and hard, like the ground after the effects of rain or frost have disappeared. 

  • Of an animal: to make or become pregnant. 

  • To cause to sink down or to be deposited (dregs, sediment, etc). 

  • To become calm, quiet, or orderly; to stop being agitated. 

  • To become compact due to sinking. 

  • To place in(to) a fixed or permanent condition or position or on(to) a permanent basis; to make firm, steady, or stable; to establish or fix. 

  • To adjust differences or accounts; to come to an agreement on matters in dispute. 

  • To clear or purify (a liquid) of dregs and impurities by causing them to sink. 

  • To close, liquidate or balance (an account) by payment, sometimes of less than is owed or due. 

  • In particular, to establish in life; to fix in business, in a home, etc. 

  • To be established in a profession or in employment. 

  • To move (people) to (a land or territory), so as to colonize it; to cause (people) to take residence in (a place). 

  • To conclude, to cause (a dispute) to finish. 

  • In particular, to terminate (a lawsuit), usually out of court, by agreement of all parties. 

  • To put into (proper) place; to make sit or lie properly. 

  • To pay (a bill). 

  • To fix one's residence in a place; to establish a dwelling place, home, or colony. (Compare settle down.) 

  • To render compact or solid; to cause to become packed down. 

  • To become clear due to the sinking of sediment. (Used especially of liquid. also used figuratively.) 

  • To bring or restore (ground, roads, etc) to a smooth, dry, or passable condition. 

  • To formally, legally secure (an annuity, property, title, etc) on (a person). 

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