reel vs whirl

reel

verb
  • To spin or revolve repeatedly. 

  • To walk shakily or unsteadily; to stagger; move as if drunk or not in control of oneself. 

  • To wind on a reel. 

  • To produce a mechanical insect-like song, as in grass warblers. 

  • To unwind, to bring or acquire something by spinning or winding something else. 

  • To make or cause to reel. 

  • To have a whirling sensation; to be giddy. 

  • To be in shock. 

  • To back off, step away, or sway backwards unsteadily and suddenly. 

noun
  • A device consisting of radial arms with horizontal stats, connected with a harvesting machine, for holding the stalks of grain in position to be cut by the knives. 

  • A lively dance originating in Scotland; also, the music of this dance; often called a Scottish (or Scotch) reel. 

  • A kind of spool, turning on an axis, on which yarn, threads, lines, or the like, are wound. 

  • A short compilation of sample film work used as a demonstrative resume in the entertainment industry. 

  • A shaky or unsteady gait. 

whirl

verb
  • To rotate, revolve, spin or turn rapidly. 

  • To make something or someone whirl. 

  • To have a sensation of spinning or reeling. 

  • To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch. 

noun
  • (usually following “give”) A brief experiment or trial. 

  • Something that whirls. 

  • A rapid series of events. 

  • Dizziness or giddiness. 

  • An act of whirling. 

  • A confused tumult. 

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