Thanks,everybody. This is most interesting.

I made a typo in the first example. It was supposed to be "trapped in a lift," not "life."

I had thought that "doona" would be an aboriginal word, but apparently it's derived from "down." It just goes to show that you never can tell.

Kylie was nobody famous, just an assistant in the shop, an anorectic who needed to gain some weight so her brain would start functioning properly. Then she would be more judicious about what gossip she'd pass on to the frail and elderly professor.

Clearly the phrase "well sick" is the newest, most variable usage. It was spoken by a teenage boy who was living on the streets.

It's fun to get together with other people and discuss language, isn't it?