cane vs thresh

cane

verb
  • to strike or beat with a cane or similar implement 

  • to destroy; to comprehensively defeat 

  • To make or furnish with cane or rattan. 

  • to produce extreme pain 

  • to do something well, in a competent fashion 

noun
  • Maize or, rarely, sorghum, when such plants are processed to make molasses (treacle) or sugar 

  • Sugar cane 

  • The slender, flexible main stem of a plant such as bamboo, including many species in the grass family Gramineae 

  • A short rod or stick, traditionally of wood or bamboo, used for corporal punishment. 

  • A strong short staff used for support or decoration during walking; a walking stick 

  • Split rattan, as used in wickerwork, basketry and the like 

  • A length of colored and/or patterned glass rod, used in the specific glassblowing technique called caneworking 

  • A local European measure of length; the canna. 

  • Corporal punishment by beating with a cane. 

  • A long rod often collapsible and commonly white (for visibility to other persons), used by vision impaired persons for guidance in determining their course and for probing for obstacles in their path 

  • A lance or dart made of cane 

  • The plant itself, including many species in the grass family Gramineae; a reed 

thresh

verb
  • To beat soundly, usually with some tool such as a stick or whip; to drub. 

  • To violently toss the limbs about. 

  • To separate the grain from the straw or husks (chaff) by mechanical beating, with a flail or machinery. 

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