arse vs stern

arse

noun
  • Used in similes to express something bad or unpleasant. 

  • A stupid, pompous, arrogant, mean or despicable person. 

  • A person; the self; (reflexively) oneself or one's person, chiefly their body; (by extension) one's personal safety, or figuratively one's job, prospects, etc. 

verb
  • To be silly, act stupid or mess around. 

stern

noun
  • The hinder part of anything. 

  • A bird, the black tern. 

  • The tail of an animal; now used only of the tail of a dog. 

  • The post of management or direction. 

  • The rear part or after end of a ship or vessel. 

verb
  • To propel or move backward or stern-first in the water. 

adj
  • Grim and forbidding in appearance. 

  • Having a hardness and severity of nature or manner. 

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