Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

play possum

To feign sleep, illness, etc.

Etymology:

  • English play + possum, from the behaviour of the Virginia opossum, feigning death when threatened. First documented 1822.
1 View
“

When we used to get home late at night, I would play possum so my daddy would carry me inside and put me in bed.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'play possum':

play possumTo dissemble or to feign ignorance; to disguise or conceal something in order to deceive.
play possumTo feign death; to remain quiet and still to escape attention or remain undetected; to lay low.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the play possum phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to play possum

play one against anotherPlay Second Fiddleplay onplay old harryplay the fieldplay the anglesplay silly buggersplay offplay the anglesplay offplay onplay the fieldplay one's cards rightplay the fool

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this play possum phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this play possum definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "play possum." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/play-possum_6154>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    Gosh you have more lives than a black _____.
    A cat
    B dog
    C suit
    D horse

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ