This bizarre animal turned out to be the only marsupial native to the U.S. and Canada. Enter your email for word fun in your inbox every day. There are many varieties of possums, including Gliders and Cuscus, while the opossum is a more limited species. Merriam-Webster, Grammarly, and Dictionary.com all note that the word is pronounced uh-possum, with the first vowel voiced. Wish you could take him out to the ballpark? However, if you are talking to a fellow American, he will likely know exactly what a possum is. Each set comes with the logo and color scheme of a different MLB franchise. We really need to raise the bar.” “Had a weird dream last night that I was a muffler. Let’s look at some examples. When confronted, the animal involuntarily faints in shock for anywhere from several minutes to four hours. The possum and the opossum are both hunted animals and possess an instinct to play dead, or “play possum” when threatened. Its fur is bushier and softer. Al Capone would be proud. Unless you’re speaking with an Australian, it’s likely you’ll be understood either way. You know he is talking about the opossum of North America because he makes reference to its unique tendency to faint as if dead when threatened: Another author, Amy Rowland, makes reference to the grayish-white color of the opossum. Mental Floss may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. In common use, possum is the usual term; in technical or scientific contexts opossum is preferred. Machine-washable? This children’s story is about a baby opossum that falls from her mother’s back into the backyard of the Green family, breaking her tail in the process. John Smith spelled it “opassum,” but William Strachey spelled it “aposoum.”. The answer is more complex and interesting than you might think. Sir Joseph Banks, a British botanist, thought they looked enough like the American opossum to give them a similar name. With the Home Team Baseball Game, you can enjoy America’s Pastime in the comfort of your living room. Yes, there is. With their signature bare tail, the opossum is North America’s only known marsupial; this means the animal carries its young in a pouch much like the Australian kangaroo. Tone vs. Whether the sharp-toothed furry critter who rustles around outside your garbage cans at night is a possum or an opossum may simply come down to where you are in the world. The room is the color of old opossum or new pumice, the color of newspaper without ink. It depends on the audience and the writer or speaker. (Possums are brown.) Your writing, at … For instance, most would assume that an Australian saying “possum” is referring to the animal that lives in his native country. While both possums and opossums are marsupials, they are, technically and scientifically, two very different animals. The Japan Times used the phrase in advice about how to avoid a bear attack: The Times Live reported how an athlete used “playing possum” as a strategy to win: The final example is from a book called With No Steps to Follow by David Allen Barton. The key differentiator, however, is the Australian possum has a bushy tail covered in fur (hence the name). It seems the possum was playing possum! “Nutritional” vs. “Healthy”: Are These Synonyms? Its body goes limp, it drools, and it even emits an odor that imitates the smell of a decaying animal. Maybe dad’s more of a whiskey and spirits guy. “It nearly worked,” he added. You may occasionally refer to the pink-nosed animal trotting along the road as a possum, which is an acceptable truncated version of opossum. In 2012, then-Historian of the Senate Don Ritchie told NPR that strategy resulted in chaos, a "crazy quilt of elections" held all across the country at different times to pick the electors—the white, male property owners who would cast their votes for president on the first Wednesday of December. Crafted in exquisite topographical detail, they’ll definitely get his visitors talking. Roll the dice to see how your make-believe players—represented by bronze and silver pegs—fare at home plate. Cyclone vs. Typhoon vs. Hurricane: Are They All The Same? However, the word without the o refers to something very different outside of North America. In the mid-17th century, a creature of curious proportions was caught in Virginia and brought to the Royal Society in London for observation. Not only is each growler leak-proof, but they’re made with materials that won’t affect a beverage’s taste. The ears of a possum are larger than that of the Virginia opossum, and their fur is softer and much more bushy. Opossums are a family of marsupials found natively in North, Central, and South America. Terri is an American, but she owns a zoo in Queensland, Australia. Their name does derive from opossum. From context, you can conclude that it’s “the only North American marsupial.” In fact, it is quite common for people to drop the O of opossum in speech and in print.
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