yellow-belly

yellow-belly

slang A spineless, cowardly person. Oh, don't be such a yellow-belly, Tom. You'll never get ahead in this industry if you're not willing to take risks! Nothing's going to change unless those yellow-bellies up in Washington are willing to stand up to the corporate lobbyists trying to pull the strings.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

yellow-belly

n. a coward. Tell the yellow-belly to come outside and say that.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • have a yellow belly
  • be yellow
  • yellow
  • beer belly
  • yellow-bellied
  • airing
  • air (one's) belly
  • air belly
  • air one’s belly
  • bellies
References in periodicals archive
Those towering, scaled-bark, "yellow-belly" ponderosa pines are part of a protective set-aside of thousands of acres of old-growth ponderosas on the Winema north of Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Forest camping's top 10
Highgrading has also removed most of the once-abundant yellow-belly ponderosa pine, including the critically important large dead pines that are nesting and foraging habitat for dozens of bird and small mammal species.
Why forest gridlock?