scarecrow vs waif

scarecrow

noun
  • A person regarded as resembling a scarecrow (sense 1) in some way; especially, a tall, thin, awkward person; or a person wearing ragged and tattered clothes. 

  • Anything that appears terrifying but presents no danger; a paper tiger. 

  • Military equipment or tactics used to scare and deter rather than cause actual damage. 

  • An effigy, typically made of straw and dressed in old clothes, fixed to a pole in a field to deter birds from eating crops or seeds planted there. 

verb
  • To cause (a person, their body, etc.) to look awkward and stiff, like a scarecrow (noun sense 1). 

  • To frighten or terrify (someone or something), as if using a scarecrow. 

  • To splay (one's arms) away from the body, like the arms of a scarecrow. 

waif

noun
  • A person (especially a child) who is homeless and without means of support; also, a person excluded from society; an outcast. 

  • A plant introduced in a place outside its native range but is not persistently naturalized. 

  • A very thin person. 

  • Something found, especially if without an owner; something which comes along, as it were, by chance. 

  • A small flag used as a signal. 

  • Something (such as clouds or smoke) carried aloft by the wind. 

verb
  • To cast aside or reject, and thus make a waif. 

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