shoehorn vs skate

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. 

skate

noun
  • A runner or blade, usually of steel, with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, made to be fastened under the foot, and used for gliding on ice. 

  • The act of roller skating or ice skating 

  • A worn-out horse. 

  • A mean or contemptible person. 

  • A fish of the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea (rays) which inhabit most seas. Skates generally have small heads with protruding muzzles, and wide fins attached to a flat body. 

  • The act of skateboarding 

adj
  • Pertaining to the technique of skating. 

verb
  • To move smoothly and easily. 

  • To use the skating technique. 

  • To get away with something; to be acquitted of a crime for which one is manifestly guilty. 

  • To move along a surface (ice or ground) using skates. 

  • To skateboard. 

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