tangle vs war of words

tangle

noun
  • A complicated or confused state or condition. 

  • Any large type of seaweed, especially a species of Laminaria. 

  • An argument, conflict, dispute, or fight. 

  • A tangled twisted mass. 

  • A paired helical fragment of tau protein found in a nerve cell and associated with Alzheimer's disease. 

  • Any long hanging thing, even a lanky person. 

  • A region of the projection of a knot such that the knot crosses its perimeter exactly four times. 

  • An instrument consisting essentially of an iron bar to which are attached swabs, or bundles of frayed rope, or other similar substances, used to capture starfishes, sea urchins, and other similar creatures living at the bottom of the sea. 

  • A form of art which consists of sections filled with repetitive patterns. 

verb
  • To mix together or intertwine. 

  • To enter into an argument, conflict, dispute, or fight. 

  • To catch and hold. 

  • To become mixed together or intertwined. 

war of words

noun
  • A heated exchange of threatening or inflammatory statements. 

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