belly (redirected from bellies up)

a belly laugh

a loud laugh which cannot be controlled. It's not often you hear the kind of jokes that give you a real belly laugh.

See also: laugh

someone's eyes are bigger than their belly/stomach (humorous)

something that you say when someone has taken more food than they can eat. I can't finish this piece of cake. I'm afraid my eyes were bigger than my stomach as usual.

See also: big, eye, stomach

fire in your/the belly

if you have fire in your belly, you are ready to fight with energy and determination for what you believe is right. He will approach the committee with plenty of fire in his belly.

See also: fire

go belly up (informal)

if a business goes belly up, it fails. Factories and farms went belly up because of the debt crisis.

yellow-bellied (old-fashioned)

a yellow-bellied person is not at all brave. You're a load of yellow-bellied fools, too frightened to stand up for what you believe in!

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go belly up

to fail. My company announced layoffs, so I found another job, and then my new company went belly up.

Usage notes: usually said about business and other organizations

Etymology: based on the idea of a dead animal found lying on its back, with its belly (= stomach) facing up