tender vs whiff

tender

noun
  • A smaller boat used for transportation between a large ship and the shore. 

  • Any offer or proposal made for acceptance. 

  • A formal offer to buy or sell something. 

  • A railroad car towed behind a steam engine to carry fuel and water. 

  • A naval ship that functions as a mobile base for other ships. 

  • A means of payment such as a check or cheque, cash or credit card. 

  • Anything which is offered, proffered, put forth or bid with the expectation of a response, answer, or reply. 

  • The inner flight muscle (pectoralis minor) of poultry. 

verb
  • to offer a payment, as at sales or auctions. 

  • To offer, to give. 

  • To work on a tender. 

adv
  • tenderly 

adj
  • Easily bruised or injured; not firm or hard; delicate. 

  • Heeling over too easily when under sail; said of a vessel. 

  • Sensible to impression and pain; easily pained. 

  • Soft and easily chewed. 

  • Apt to give pain; causing grief or pain; delicate. 

  • Physically weak; not able to endure hardship. 

  • Sensitive or painful to the touch. 

  • Fond, loving, gentle, or sweet. 

  • Adapted to excite feeling or sympathy; expressive of the softer passions; pathetic. 

  • Young and inexperienced. 

whiff

noun
  • An outrigged boat for one person propelled by oar. 

  • A brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of air; a waft. 

  • A flag used as a signal. 

  • A short inhalation or exhalation of breath, especially when accompanied by smoke from a cigarette or pipe. 

  • An odour (usually unpleasant) carried briefly through the air. 

  • The name of a number of flatfish such as (dated) the lemon sole (Microstomus kitt) and now, especially, the megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) and (with a descriptive word) a species of large-tooth flounder or sand flounder (family Paralichthyidae). 

  • A slight sign of something; a burst, a glimpse, a hint. 

  • A slight attack or touch. 

  • A characteristic quality of something; a flavour, a savour, a taste. 

  • A failure to hit a ball in various sports (for example, golf); a miss. 

  • A sound like that of air passing through a small opening; a short or soft whistle. 

  • A small quantity of cloud, smoke, vapour, etc.; specifically (obsolete), chiefly in take the whiff: a puff of tobacco smoke. 

  • From the batter's perspective: a strike. 

adj
  • Having a strong or unpleasant odour. 

intj
  • Used to indicate a sound like that of air passing through a small opening, that is, a short or soft whistle. 

verb
  • To inhale or exhale (smoke from tobacco, etc.) from a cigarette, pipe, or other smoking implement; to smoke (a cigarette, pipe, etc.); to puff. 

  • To say (something) with an exhalation of breath. 

  • To breathe in or sniff (an odour); to smell. 

  • To carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air; to blow, puff, or waft away. 

  • Of a pitcher: to strike out (a batter); to fan. 

  • To be carried, or move as if carried, by a puff of air; to waft. 

  • To smoke a cigarette, pipe, or other smoking implement. 

  • Especially in baseball or golf: to completely miss hitting a ball; hence (baseball), of a batter: to strike out; to fan. 

  • To give off or have an unpleasant smell; to stink. 

  • To catch fish by dragging a handline near the surface of the water from a moving boat. 

  • To shoot (someone) with a firearm; hence, to assassinate or kill (someone). 

  • To smell; to sniff. 

  • To fail spectacularly. 

  • In fighting games, to execute a move that fails to hit the opponent. 

  • To move in a way that causes a light gust of air, or a whistling sound. 

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