Shoe by Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly for December 10, 2023

The possum plays dead, the O’possum plays stinking dead!

is ainmhi a labhraíonn Gaeilge é

I see Skylar is being his normal self ! ! ! !

A possum plays dead, and an opossum is dead?

O?

I was curious so I looked it up. I was surprised by the answer. They are actually completely different animals.:

In North America, the animal officially called an opossum is a white and gray marsupial of the order Didelphimorphia. English colonists living in Jamestown derived the word from its equivalent in Powhatan, a language spoken by the Virginia Algonquian tribe. Literally, the word means “white dog or beast” in Powhatan. John Smith spelled it “opassum,” but William Strachey spelled it “aposoum.”

Possums, on the other hand, live in Australia, New Guinea, Sulawesi, New Zealand, and China. Their name does derive from opossum. Sir Joseph Banks, a British botanist, thought they looked enough like the American opossum to give them a similar name. However, kangaroos and other Australian marsupials are closer relations than American opossums. Possums belong to the Diprotodontia order.

Possums have furry tails. Opossums have a bare tail.

How about the McPossum and the MacPossum?

Skyler, an opossum is American. The Irish variety is O’Possum.

They used to be, anyway.

Reminds me of the Irish singer from the county Key who was playing all around town. A chap named Cary O’Key.

And all possums are born dead along the road.

In “opossum”, the first letter is silent.

A possum buys you a cheap Christmas gift, an Opossum shaves its fur to buy you an expensive gift you don’t need.

hey! (last name is O’Connell)

An opossum is a possum who’s puttin’ on airs.

The letter “O”

I don’t know if this was shown in any previous strips that I just didn’t notice, but the title panel indicates Skylar’s elementary school was named for General Patton. I suppose this explains why he typically takes summer camp with the Marines….

For a possum, its end is the road.

Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer

(⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

And a possum is Australian.

The possumbilities are endless.

Actually Opossum is son of Possum…

They make the most of their time so that life won’t possum by.

Who’s green and likes to sit outside?

Paddy O’Furniture!

Oh, really?

The spelling, of course.

Skyler is almost as bad a student as Peppermint Patty.

Possum sang “The Race Is On” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today”.

One’s a redneck the other’s a hillbilly.