possum

[ pos-uh m ]
/ ˈpɒs əm /

noun

Australian. any of various phalangers, especially of the genus Trichosurus.

Idioms for possum

    play possum, Informal.
    1. to feign sleep or death.
    2. to dissemble or pretend ignorance: The baseball broke the window, but the children played possum when asked who had thrown it.

Origin of possum

1605–15, Americanism; short for opossum

Example sentences from the Web for possum

British Dictionary definitions for possum

possum
/ (ˈpɒsəm) /

noun

an informal name for opossum (def. 1)
Also called: phalanger Australian and NZ any of various Australasian arboreal marsupials, such as Trichosurus vulpecula (brush-tailed phalanger), having dense fur and a long tail: family Phalangeridae
play possum to pretend to be dead, ignorant, asleep, etc, in order to deceive an opponent

Idioms and Phrases with possum

possum

see play possum.