to say belly instead of tummy?

[CartwrightMiss]

Visited my niece today, and played the wheres your nose/ears/eyes game.

When I said "where is your belly?" my sister snapped, don't say belly, say tummy.

Apparently it's common and said like "bell-leh"

Maybe I am unreasonable to say belly, but my niece still pointed to her stomach when I asked where her belly was

we get in sooo much trouble if we say stomach

how funny that tummy = stomach

ok.. maybe belly's not so bad after all

Doctor here. I've discussed this topic in detail with family, friends and colleagues.

I use belly or tummy or abdomen depending on who I'm dealing with. If a patient may or may not understand "abdomen" (and most do, but plenty don't), "belly" can sound slightly less patronising than "tummy".

This was never a problem in medical school (finished reasonably recently - same osce set-up as is current), but that may be dependent on the school.

Saying "tummy" makes your lips small and slighty prim.
Saying "belly" makes your lips grin wolfishly.

Give me a good belly laugh any day of the week.

Tummy is awful when said by an adult, all creepy and twee. I much prefer belly, belly laugh, belly rubs, the associations are much better.

I had a "baby in the belly" as far as DS1 was concerned. I suppose that was to do with alliteration and size. We seem to be calling it "tummy" now.

In my mind, belly is linked to size, like beer belly. I wouldn't really apply it to a slim abdomen.

I was brought up to think that saying belly was very common and I should always say tummy, and I instilled that into my children too.

We do say belly button though.

But I agree that tummy is twee for an adult - you should say stomach or midriff or something. Tummy is for children.

tummy is for 5 year olds and belly for commoners and stomach for adults.

Yes, that's exactly it. I think the gavel should fall now.

I never used the word belly until I had DD but now it's all I use with her. I never use it when referring to adults I don't think

I never knew the word was so offensive, common, coarse and rough until I came on MN. Geez the things you learn in this place. I went to proper posh boarding school 'n' all.

I love the word "belly", primarily because my very refined 18 year old niece used to use it as a small child. Most memorably after a Boxing Day during which she consumed half the contents of a small banquet.
Her line "I've got a pain in me belly" will live with me until my dying day. Of course now she is a refined young woman (I'm 18 you can't tell me what to do , poor DSister). it is not the done thing to tell people about this so don't tell her I've told you.

Belly is an awful word, and I do find it coarse. Same with bum instead of bottom, buggy instead of pushchair etc.

Well, Belly Dancing wouldn't sound the same as Tummy/stomach Dancing would it? and a Beer Belly as" Beer Tummy"?

Otherwise I don't use it. Most say Stomach and Tummy to children.

My Grandfather was very posh, belly was for animal and tummy or stomach was for humans.
So that's the vocabulary we used. I have no objection to belly or bum but rarely use them.
And belly dance? That's the western name for a style of dance that most polite western ladies in the 18-early 20th centuries would never have performed. Especially to an audience!

I think belly is ok in certain instances, for example the underbelly of something, belly of pork, belly dance, belly button, belly ring, etc,

but I would NEVER refer to a bellyache, if talking about having stomach ache, and I would never refer to my own 'belly' or anyone else's belly - always tummy or stomach, depending on context. If I heard someone say 'I've got a pain in my belly' I would definitely find it quite coarse, and I might clutch my pearls and raise an eyebrow.

However, I wouldn't mind someone saying 'stop bellyaching' as a turn of phrase to describe moaning. That seems different somehow.

Well, a very rah friend of mine says 'belly', so I fear it might be one of those 'toilet' versus 'loo' things. All the naicest people (looking at you MIL) I know say 'tummy' though.
Also, found this with a quick Google
^Belly goes all the way back to Old English, where it originally meant a bag, but from at least as early as the 13th century, it's used to mean a human or animal stomach and from at least the 14th century, it's used for the abdomen.... Tummy (a baby-talk simplification of stomach), in contrast, is only seen in print from the 19th century.
^
So you could argue that belly has the better pedigree.

sorry, italics fail

Hate the word belly.

Unless talking about a beer belly.

I don't think it common, more, as previously posted, that it's course. I would think that if a rah voice (like mine!) said it or otherwise.

Nothing to do with class IMO.

Well I'm going to disagree with most of all. I say belly and think tummy sounds stupid and patronising. It reminds me of going to the doctors as a child.

Blowing massive raspberries on my two year old's BELLY whilst saying "I'm gonna getcha BELLY!" in a silly voice is one of my great pleasures in life....her squeals of laughter brighten up my day

If that makes me common...then so be it!

I don't say belly, I hate the word.

Stomach ache, stomach button etc.

Yes yes to stomach. Unless its a child & then tummy.

FancyShandy "Coarse" not "Course". Sorry...pedant alert...it's just you can't go about judging people's choice of words and misspelling your reasons.

Enough with the itchy teeth! That phrase is more cringe than the word belly.

It was a word said to a child - not an adult or in a professional environment. I personally wouldn't pull someone up on the words they decide to use and refer to them as common.

MN really is full of Mrs Buckets.

Another belly hater. Nails down a blackboard. Were it not that DD is 8, I would think you were my SIL as I've had to have that conversation with her...

Her to DD (who had reflux): Ooh, have you got a belly ache? Is your belly sore? Is that poor little belly hur-

Me: SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP! Shutupshutupshutupshutup!

I really cannot bear it. Tum, stomach, abdomen - even 'guts' is better than belly. I can't explain why.