Page 3 | To ask for a national campaign to stop adults referring to their "tummy"

OptimismvsRealism · 2024-07-19T08:33:46+00:00

Still absolutely fine to talk to children about tummies But adults need to know that it is never ever ever ever ever ok to say "my tummy hurts" Ever, ok?

SummaLuvin · 19/07/2024 10:30

MartyFunkhouser · 19/07/2024 10:02

I agree - see also grown-arse adults referring to being ‘poorly’ or having a ‘sniffle’.

I wonder if there is some regional differences. Where I am 'poorly' is just a synonym of ill, unwell, or sick - it's not reserved for children or seen as baby talk.

Similarly 'sniffle' isn't childish, it's the term I would use for if I was a bit congested but felt like saying I had a cold was overkill.

TheHuntSyndicate · 19/07/2024 10:29

Tummy is an appropriate word used in the right context.

For example, dogs have tummy rubs but I wouldn't ask a doctor to have a look at my tummy.

Needmorelego · 19/07/2024 10:28

@FinalCeleryScheme only if I am a doctor in a Carry On film 😂

CissOff · 19/07/2024 10:27

Tummy is vile. It feels very ‘bitty’ to me 🤢

I would just say I have an upset stomach. Possibly not anatomically correct but it feels the best of a bad bunch.

FinalCeleryScheme · 19/07/2024 10:27

Needmorelego · 19/07/2024 10:25

Things I say and do about bodies....
Tummy
Tum Tum
Bot Bot
Butt-tocks (over exaggerated accent for the tocks bit)
Squeeze the Butt-tocks and go "honk honk"
Derriere
Boobies
Boobletuns
Poke the bellybutton and say "Boop"
Jelly Belly
Wobble the jelly belly and say "wibble wobble".
By the way.....we are 59, 49 and 16 in this house.
We so mature.

Good morning doctor. Will you be doing the ward round today?

BlossomToLeaves · 19/07/2024 10:27

I hate tummy for adults too. But surely it is just a baby-talk shortening of the word 'stomach', so it's equally accurate/inaccurate whether you talk about tummy-ache or stomach-ache?! Or anything else vaguely to do with tummy/stomach - we often use the wrong word when it is other parts of the abdomen. But I don't see the tummy/stomach distinction as changing that.

I've been watching loads of the hospital/GP/casualty type documentaries the past few weeks as I've been recovering from surgery (not tummy surgery!!) and they often talk about tummies on there, so we'd have to get doctors and nurses to stop doing that first.

Needmorelego · 19/07/2024 10:25

Things I say and do about bodies....
Tummy
Tum Tum
Bot Bot
Butt-tocks (over exaggerated accent for the tocks bit)
Squeeze the Butt-tocks and go "honk honk"
Derriere
Boobies
Boobletuns
Poke the bellybutton and say "Boop"
Jelly Belly
Wobble the jelly belly and say "wibble wobble".
By the way.....we are 59, 49 and 16 in this house.
We so mature.

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 19/07/2024 10:25

@OptimismvsRealism can someone think of a better name for "tummy tuck"?? extended apronectomy anyone?????

SummerSnowstorm · 19/07/2024 10:24

puppychase · 19/07/2024 10:20

Wow I never realised belly was so awful??

I associate belly as slang for fat.
Locally to us that's generally the use anyway, the abdomin is generally referred to as stomach for most adults, tummy for children or belly for things like "he's got a huge belly on him" etc.
Appreciate that may be regional though.

DinnaeFashYersel · 19/07/2024 10:24

Team Tummy

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 19/07/2024 10:22

@OptimismvsRealism for goodness sake, get a life!!

bananacreampie · 19/07/2024 10:21

SummerSnowstorm · 19/07/2024 10:18

Tummy covers the whole area. Tummy ache may not always be related to the actual stomach.

The "tummy" is the stomach - it is "an informal or childish word for stomach". Most "tummy aches" are in the lower abdomen and are to do with the small and/or large intestine, not the stomach.

Don't get me started on the twee, euphemistic "tummy tuck"...

Hadjab · 19/07/2024 10:20

Which is preferable?

"I have a tummy ache."

"I've got the shits."

puppychase · 19/07/2024 10:20

Wow I never realised belly was so awful??

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 19/07/2024 10:20

Reallybadidea · 19/07/2024 09:39

It's better than "belly" though

I do so agree - I loathe ‘belly’. It’s acceptable only in ‘belly dancer’.

Shardonneigghhh · 19/07/2024 10:20

Can we also stop referring to babies in stomachs please?

Hopefully no one ate their baby, and if it arrived there via oral then it's not going to develop beyond gamete stage.

Uterus! It's in your uterus!

honeypancake · 19/07/2024 10:18

What's wrong with abdomen/abdominal pain?! The use of tummy by doctors make it look like we are all still in kindergarten.

SummerSnowstorm · 19/07/2024 10:18

Tummy covers the whole area. Tummy ache may not always be related to the actual stomach.

MrHarleyQuin · 19/07/2024 10:16

Tummy is a great word.

usernother · 19/07/2024 10:15

FinalCeleryScheme · 19/07/2024 09:39

So true. I only refer to my ventriculus.

Though, TBF, sometimes ‘gastrointestinal tract’ fits the bill.

Demonhunter · 19/07/2024 10:15

Just to give the belly haters nightmares 😂

NervousSubject · 19/07/2024 10:14

Do women with tummies also have hubbies? I suspect so.

endofthelinefinally · 19/07/2024 10:14

FuzzyWuzzyWuzABear · 19/07/2024 10:09

Yes but when you're ringing in sick to work, your manager doesn't need an exact location of the pain! 😁

And if it's a Dr you're talking too, I'd expect them to draw their own conclusions after an examination.

Show quote history

You would be lucky to get as far as an examination these days. Telephone and online consults are first line, so describing the location of your pain accurately will save time.

bananacreampie · 19/07/2024 10:13

I'm with you, OP. It is a revolting, cloying word, when used by adults, unless children are being spoken to, etc.

It is also annoyingly inaccurate - as "tummy" is a childish abbreviation/substitute for stomach, and usually the area described as having a "tummy ache" (barf) is the lower abdomen and nowhere near the stomach.

OtterMouse · 19/07/2024 10:12

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.