backwater vs tank town

backwater

noun
  • A remote place; somewhere that remains unaffected by new events, progresses, ideas, etc. 

  • A rowing stroke in which the oar is pushed forward to stop the boat; see back water 

  • Water used in the papermaking process. Recycled to reduce usage of fresh water, and usually containing residual amounts of chemicals and fibres. 

  • The water held back by a dam or other obstruction 

verb
  • To vacillate on a long-held position. 

  • To row or paddle a backwater stroke. 

tank town

noun
  • A small, unimportant, place. 

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