house of cards vs tough

house of cards

noun
  • A structure or argument built on a shaky foundation. 

  • A structure made by stacking playing cards in a pyramidal fashion. 

  • Any structure with alternating vertical and horizontal layers. 

tough

verb
  • To endure. 

  • To toughen. 

intj
  • Used to indicate lack of sympathy 

adj
  • Harsh or severe. 

  • Difficult or demanding. 

  • Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence. 

  • Strong and resilient; sturdy. 

  • Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking. 

  • Difficult to cut or chew. 

  • Rugged or physically hardy. 

  • Rowdy or rough. 

noun
  • A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully. 

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