<P> A yellowbelly (or yeller belly) is a person from Lincolnshire, England . The origin of this nickname is disputed, and many explanations have been offered . These include: </P> <Ul> <Li> The uniforms of the old Lincolnshire Regiment were green with yellow facings . The fastenings of the uniform tunic, which were known as frogs, were also yellow . </Li> <Li> A species of newt, frog or eel (there is disagreement on this point) found in the Lincolnshire Fens had yellow undersides . </Li> <Li> Bacon hung up and stored for a long time turned yellow (reasty). </Li> <Li> The backs of farm workers who stripped to the waist in hot weather turned dark brown but their bellies turned yellow . </Li> <Li> Opium extracted from poppy heads, and taken to relieve malaria that was prevalent in the fens in earlier centuries, turned the skin a shade of yellow . </Li> <Li> Sheep grazing in mustard fields were dusted by pollen from the blossom that turned their undersides yellow . </Li> <Li> Women traders on street markets in past times are reputed to have worn a leather apron with two pockets, one for copper and silver and one for gold . At the end of a good day they would say they had' a yellow belly' meaning they had taken a large number of gold sovereigns . </Li> <Li> A folk etymology says that the term originated from Elloe, the name of the rural deanery that serves the fen area of the Lincoln Diocese . This in turn took its name from the Saxon Wapentake which was referred to as þe Elloe Bellie - Elloe meaning out of the morass while bel was the Celtic word for hole or hollow . </Li> </Ul> <Li> The uniforms of the old Lincolnshire Regiment were green with yellow facings . The fastenings of the uniform tunic, which were known as frogs, were also yellow . </Li> <Li> A species of newt, frog or eel (there is disagreement on this point) found in the Lincolnshire Fens had yellow undersides . </Li>

Where does the saying yellow belly come from