possum : Idioms & Phrases

Index

play possum

  • verb to pretend to be dead
WordNet

possum haw

  • noun deciduous shrub of southeastern and central United States
    Ilex decidua; winterberry; bearberry.
WordNet

possum oak

  • noun relatively tall deciduous water oak of southeastern United States often cultivated as a shade tree; thrives in wet soil
    Quercus nigra; water oak.
WordNet

To play possum, To act possum

  • to feign ignorance, indifference or inattention, with the intent to deceive; to dissemble; in allusion to the habit of the opossum, which feigns death when attacked or alarmed.
Webster 1913