Possum is a noun referring to a small to medium-sized nocturnal marsupial native to Australia and nearby regions, commonly called a brush-tailed or common possum. In some dialects, particularly in the U.S., “possum” also colloquially refers to the Virginia opossum, a distinctly different species. The term also appears in American folklore and idioms, but its core meaning centers on the marsupial or, informally, a sluggish, evasive creature in certain contexts.
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