can vs tail end

can

noun
  • Buttocks. 

  • An ounce (or sometimes, two ounces) of marijuana. 

  • A protective cover for the fuel element in a nuclear reactor. 

  • Jail or prison. 

  • A more or less cylindrical vessel for liquids, usually of steel or aluminium, but sometimes of plastic, and with a carrying handle over the top. 

  • A container used to carry and dispense water for plants (a watering can). 

  • Headphones. 

  • A cube-shaped buoy or marker used to denote a port-side lateral mark 

  • A chimney pot. 

  • A tin-plate canister, often cylindrical, for preserved foods such as fruit, meat, or fish. 

  • An E-meter used in Scientology auditing. 

verb
  • To have the potential to; be possible. 

  • To cover (the fuel element in a nuclear reactor) with a protective cover. 

  • Used with verbs of perception. 

  • May; to be permitted or enabled to. 

  • To discard, scrap or terminate (an idea, project, etc.). 

  • To fire or dismiss an employee. 

  • To shut up. 

  • To know how to; to be able to. 

  • To seal in a can. 

  • To hole the ball. 

  • To preserve by heating and sealing in a jar or can. 

  • The boss canned him for speaking out. 

tail end

noun
  • The hindmost part of anything (a person, animal, or object), the rear end; the butt, buttocks; hindquarters, rump. 

  • The last part of a period of time, event, or situation; the concluding or final part. 

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