brown noser vs white knight

brown noser

noun
  • One who brownnoses (flatters or humors somebody in an obsequious manner for personal gain); one who sucks up; a bootlicker, ass-kisser, sycophant. 

white knight

noun
  • Someone who unnecessarily defends someone else. 

  • An individual or corporation that intends to acquire another company in order to avert a hostile takeover. 

  • A man who defends a woman in debate etc. in an attempt to gain her favour. 

  • A mushroom of species Tricholoma album. 

  • A hero, savior, or righteous individual. 

verb
  • To unnecessarily defend someone, especially in an attempt to gain favour. 

How often have the words brown noser and white knight occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )