lost soul vs ne'er-do-well

lost soul

noun
  • One who is forlorn, who lacks direction, purpose, or motivation in life. 

  • A soul that is destined to go to hell; a person possessing such a soul. 

ne'er-do-well

noun
  • A person without a means of support; an idle, worthless person; a loafer; a person who is ineffectual, unsuccessful, or completely lacking in merit; a good-for-nothing. 

  • A person who is up to no good; a rogue. 

adj
  • Showing the characteristics of a ne'er-do-well: indolent, worthless, or roguish. 

How often have the words lost soul and ne'er-do-well occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )