pare vs whittle

pare

verb
  • To reduce, diminish or trim gradually something as if by cutting off. 

  • To trim the hoof of a horse. 

  • To remove the outer covering or skin of something with a cutting device, typically a knife. 

  • To sharpen a pencil. 

whittle

verb
  • To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt). 

  • To cut or shape wood with a knife. 

  • To make eager or excited; to excite with liquor; to inebriate. 

noun
  • A knife; especially, a pocket knife, sheath knife, or clasp knife. 

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