idle vs take on

idle

verb
  • To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business. 

  • To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume. 

  • Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over. 

noun
  • An idle game. 

  • The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine. 

  • The state of idling, of being idle. 

  • An idle animation. 

adj
  • Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular. 

  • Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity. 

  • Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful. 

  • Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly. 

take on

verb
  • To obtain the services of (a person) in exchange for remuneration; to give someone a job. 

  • To assume or take responsibility for. 

  • To (attempt to) dribble round (an opposition player). 

  • To catch on, do well; to become popular. 

  • To begin to have or exhibit. 

  • To attempt to fight, compete with, or engage with. 

  • To acquire, bring in, or introduce. 

  • To grieve or be concerned (about something or someone). 

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