nail vs tack

nail

verb
  • To drive a nail. 

  • To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails. 

  • To expose as a sham. 

  • To catch. 

  • Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with. 

  • To spike, as a cannon. 

  • To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon. 

  • To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully. 

  • To fix (an object) to another object using a nail. 

  • To nail down: to make certain, or confirm. 

noun
  • A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction. 

  • The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds. 

  • The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera. 

  • A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol. 

  • An archaic English unit of length equivalent to ¹⁄₂₀ of an ell or ¹⁄₁₆ of a yard (2+¹⁄₄ inches or 5.715 cm). 

  • The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. 

  • The claw of a bird or other animal. 

tack

verb
  • To nail with a tack (small nail with a flat head). 

  • To maneuver a sailing vessel so that its bow turns through the wind, i.e. the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other. 

  • To add something as an extra item. 

  • To sew/stitch with a tack (loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth). 

  • to tack (something) onto (something) 

  • To place the tack on a horse; often paired with "up". 

noun
  • The distance a sailing vessel runs between these maneuvers when working to windward; a board. 

  • A rope used to hold in place the foremost lower corners of the courses when the vessel is close-hauled; also, a rope employed to pull the lower corner of a studding sail to the boom. 

  • Any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. 

  • The maneuver by which a sailing vessel turns its bow through the wind so that the wind changes from one side to the other. 

  • A contract by which the use of a thing is set, or let, for hire; a lease. 

  • The stickiness of a compound, related to its cohesive and adhesive properties. 

  • That which is tacky; something cheap and gaudy. 

  • A small nail with a flat head. 

  • A stain; a tache. 

  • That which is attached; a supplement; an appendix. 

  • A direction or course of action, especially a new one. 

  • A course or heading that enables a sailing vessel to head upwind. 

  • Food generally; fare, especially of the bread kind. 

  • A loose seam used to temporarily fasten pieces of cloth. 

  • A thumbtack. 

  • The lower corner on the leading edge of a sail relative to the direction of the wind. 

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