boast vs strut

boast

verb
  • To brag; to talk loudly in praise of oneself. 

  • To speak of with pride, vanity, or exultation, with a view to self-commendation; to extol. 

  • To play a boast shot. 

  • To dress, as a stone, with a broad chisel. 

  • To possess something special (e.g. as a feature). 

  • To shape roughly as a preparation for the finer work to follow; to cut to the general form required. 

noun
  • A shot where the ball is driven off a side wall and then strikes the front wall. 

  • A brag; ostentatious positive appraisal of oneself. 

  • Something that one brags about. 

strut

verb
  • To walk across or on (a stage or other place) haughtily or proudly. 

  • Of a peacock or other fowl: to stand or walk stiffly, with the tail erect and spread out. 

  • To walk haughtily or proudly with one's head held high. 

  • To brace or support (something) by a strut or struts; to hold (something) in place or strengthen by a diagonal, transverse, or upright support. 

  • To be attached diagonally or at a slant; also, to be bent at a sharp angle. 

noun
  • A beam or rod providing support. 

  • An act of strutting (“bracing or supporting (something) by a strut or struts (sense 1); attaching diagonally; bending at a sharp angle”); specifically, deviation (of the spoke of a wheel) from the normal position. 

  • An instrument for adjusting the pleats of a ruff. 

  • A step or walk done stiffly and with the head held high, often due to haughtiness or pride; affected dignity in walking. 

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