go on vs shorten

go on

verb
  • To happen (occur). 

  • To proceed. 

  • To use and adopt (information) in order to understand an issue, make a decision, etc. 

  • To continue an action. 

  • To continue in extent. 

  • I think I've said enough now; I'm not sure I should go on. 

  • To talk about a subject frequently or at great length. 

intj
  • Expressing that the speaker can continue speaking without interruption from the listener. 

  • Expressing surprise, disbelief or incredulity. 

  • Expressing encouragement, see come on. 

shorten

verb
  • To make deficient (as to); to deprive (of). 

  • To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen. 

  • To take in the slack of (a rope). 

  • To reduce (sail) by taking it in. 

  • To become shorter. 

  • To make shorter; to abbreviate. 

  • To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, etc. 

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