prickly vs smouldering

prickly

noun
  • Something that gives a pricking sensation; a sharp object. 

adj
  • Covered with sharp points. 

  • Easily irritated. 

  • Difficult; complicated; hairy or thorny. 

adv
  • In a prickly manner. 

smouldering

noun
  • The act by which something smoulders; residual heat. 

adj
  • Burning slowly, producing smoke but no flame. 

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