play\ possum

play\ possum
v. phr. informal
1. To pretend to be asleep.

Johnny seemed to be fully asleep, but his mother knew that he was playing possum.

2. To stay quiet for self-protection; try to escape attention by inactivity.

The rabbit played possum under the bushes, hoping the hunter would not see him.

Bob played possum when the teacher looked around.


Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". . 1997.

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  • play possum — {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To pretend to be asleep. * /Johnny seemed to be fully asleep, but his mother knew that he was playing possum./ 2. To stay quiet for self protection; try to escape attention by inactivity. * /The rabbit played possum under …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • play possum — {v. phr.}, {informal} 1. To pretend to be asleep. * /Johnny seemed to be fully asleep, but his mother knew that he was playing possum./ 2. To stay quiet for self protection; try to escape attention by inactivity. * /The rabbit played possum under …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • play possum — To pretend to be dead or sleeping. His younger sister jumped on him because she knew he was just playing possum …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • play possum — ► play possum 1) pretend to be unconscious or dead (as an opossum does when threatened). 2) feign ignorance. Main Entry: ↑possum …   English terms dictionary

  • play possum — verb to pretend to be dead (Freq. 1) • Hypernyms: ↑feign, ↑sham, ↑pretend, ↑affect, ↑dissemble • Verb Frames: Somebody s * * * 1) pretend to be asleep or unconscious wh …   Useful english dictionary

  • play possum — verb a) to feign death; to remain quiet and still to escape attention or remain undetected; to lay low. Thinking fast, we played possum hoping the bear wouldnt bother us. b) to feign sleep, illness, etc. The soldier played possum, fooling the… …   Wiktionary

  • play possum —    When someone plays possum, they pretend to be dead or asleep in order to avoid something they don t want to do.     Sarah s not asleep. She s just playing possum because she doesn t want to come swimming …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • play possum — 1》 feign unconsciousness or death (as an opossum does when threatened). 2》 feign ignorance. → possum …   English new terms dictionary

  • play possum — to pretend to be dead or sleeping so that someone will not annoy or attack you. I don t think he s really asleep. He s playing possum …   New idioms dictionary

  • To play possum — Possum Pos sum, n. [Shortened from opossum.] (Zo[ o]l.) An opossum. [Colloq. U. S.] [1913 Webster] {To play possum}, {To act possum}, to feign ignorance, indifference or inattention, with the intent to deceive; to dissemble; in allusion to the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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