Playing 'possom

Posted by ESC on May 22, 2004

In Reply to: To play dead - playing dead posted by Word Camel on May 21, 2004

: : : : The meaning and sense is clear - I would just like to find the origin - I know Björk has a song called "Play Dead" did she come up with it? or is it a much older saying? - Thanks for any help!
: : : ps - Apart from "dog talking" when you say it to a dog - is there a link to literature or a quote?

: : Probably from an opossum, an animal that will freeze and play dead. It is very convincing. It goes completely stiff and lifeless.

: Yikes, that sounds like personal experience again. :)

Actually, yes. All my life I had heard the expression "playing 'possom." Well, we had a 'possom scratching around in our trash cans one night. The next morning I went out and down in the can was this poor, stiff creature. It looked like he had been trapped in the can and died. I drug the can out to a nearby field and dumped out what I thought was his lifeless body. He scampered away. He had fooled me completely.