lather vs whale on

lather

verb
  • To beat or whip. 

  • To form lather or froth, as a horse does when profusely sweating. 

  • To cover with lather. 

noun
  • A state of agitation. 

  • The foam made by rapidly stirring soap and water. 

  • Foam from profuse sweating, as of a horse. 

whale on

verb
  • To beat heavily on anything. 

  • To strike an opponent heavily and repeatedly in a fight. 

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