possum

Meaning

  1. A tree-dwelling Australian marsupial, such as the brushtail or ringtail possum.
  2. A term of endearment. To 'stir the possum' is to stir up trouble or liven things up.

Example

There's a possum living in our roof again.

Origin

Shortening of 'opossum', from a Virginia Algonquian language, applied in Australia to similar-looking marsupials.

Nearby words

All P words →