rub vs whittle

rub

verb
  • To scour; to burnish; to polish; to brighten; to cleanse; often with up or over. 

  • To hinder; to cross; to thwart. 

  • To move (one object) while maintaining contact with another object over some area, with pressure and friction. 

  • To touch the jack with the bowl. 

  • To be rubbed against something. 

  • To rub something against (a second thing). 

  • To spread a substance thinly over; to smear. 

noun
  • A loan. 

  • An act of rubbing. 

  • In the game of crown green bowls, any obstacle by which a bowl is diverted from its normal course. 

  • Any substance designed to be applied by rubbing. 

  • A mixture of spices applied to meat before it is barbecued. 

  • A difficulty or problem. 

whittle

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

  • To cut or shape wood with a knife. 

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

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

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