"Give sock" meant "thrash"? I wonder if there was any conflation of "sock" with "sack" in a military or industrial context in the early 19th century (sack of a conquered town, sackcloth for rough use)? I understand "sack" is current schoolyard slang meaning to deliver a blow - to the scrotal area, that is. "Sock" as footwear could conceivably be influenced by "stocking," though probably not derived from it since it would be hard to lose a "t" in mid-syllable.