mess around with vs tinker

mess around with

tinker

noun
  • A bird, the razor-billed auk. 

  • A mischievous person, especially a playful, impish youngster. 

  • An itinerant tinsmith and mender of household utensils made of metal. 

  • The act of repair or invention. 

  • Someone who repairs, or attempts repair, on anything mechanical, or who invents such devices; one who tinkers; a tinkerer. 

  • Any of various fish: chub mackerel, silverside, skate, or young mackerel about two years old. 

verb
  • To work as a tinker. 

  • To fiddle with something in an attempt to fix, mend or improve it, especially in an experimental or unskilled manner. 

How often have the words mess around with and tinker occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )