Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. the body; thus make a hole in someone’s soul-case v., to wound.

1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue (3rd edn) n.p.: Soul Case. The body. He made a hole in his soul case; he wounded him.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum [as cit. 1796].
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1852		G.C. Mundy Our Antipodes I 213: His soul-case looked in the highest preservation – for he was naturally of athletic frame.
1862		E. de la Bédollière Londres et les Anglais 318/1: soul case, le corps, he made a hole in his soul case, il l’a blessé.
1896		Clipper (Hobart, Tas.) 15 Aug. 3/4: Wearin out them gell’s soul cases / With the way they makes em work.
1900		Bulletin (Sydney) 10 Mar. 24/2: Nolan’s punches apparently carried most powder or they were luckier in landing on soft places, for the Cabbage-garden man was the first to fly signals of distress, and he continued flying them till a soul-case-shaking uppercut loaded with sting caused his knees to sag and the whole lot of him to drop with a thud.
1908		Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Dec. 14/4: We expressed our amazement. ‘Oh, me an’ Dinny’s old mates,’ said Harris. ‘But,’ I said, ‘you were leathering the soul-cases off each other.’.

2. (US/Aus.) one’s spirit, usu. in the context of worry, suffering or oppression; thus take/worry the soul-case out of, wear/work the soul-case off v., to annoy, to drive, to punish.

1896		H. Blossom Checkers 127: I’ve had four on ’em [i.e. women] in my time, and they’ve worn the soul-case off’n me.
1906		E. Dyson Fact’ry ’Ands 109: She works ther soul case off him et ther wash dolly all day.
1912		Sport (Adelaide) 15 June 3/1: [The stewards] had Hale up for not belting the soulcase out of Lockwing in the Steeple .
1919		V. Marshall World of Living Dead (1969) 124: Why, a pore dorg could go black in the face and spew his soulcase up—what the blinded ’ell would one o’ them sods care.
1935		(con. late 1920s) L. Hughes Little Ham Act I: He takes the soul-case out of you [...] He drives me mad.
1936		(con. 1830s–60s) ‘Miles Franklin’ All That Swagger 101: People unable to project themselves beyond the ancient soul-case wrought for them by the inspired members of their race through a hundred generations in Europe were driven by their immediate needs to uproot Australia.
1950		(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 204: It’s got my goat the way he’s comin’ home boozed, and worryin’ the soul-case out of you.
1970		F. Collymore Notes for Gloss. of Barbadian Dial. 106: Look at me worrying out my soul-case.
1979		T. Rhone Old Story Time I i: It hurts mi soul case to tell lie.
1998		R.G. Barrett Mud Crab Boogie (2013) [ebook] They charged into the middle of the cage and immediately started punching and kicking the soul case out of each other.