play possum (also play dead)
idiomatic phrase (U.S.)

- to pretend to be dead or sleeping so that someone will not annoy or attack you

Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

Apparent death, colloquially known as playing dead, feigning death, or PLAYING POSSUM, is a behavior in which animals take on the appearance of being dead. In mammals, the Virginia opossum is perhaps the best known example, hence our idiomatic expression.

This instinct does not always pay off in the modern world; for example, opossums playing dead in response to oncoming traffic has not proven to be a good survival strategy.

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PLAYING PREDATORY POSSUM

While most animals play dead in the hope that a predator will lose interest and go away, Nimbochromis (sleeper cichlids), found in Lake Malawi in East Africa, are large predatory fish for whom playing dead is a form of aggressive mimicry.

This clever fish will lie down on its side on the bottom sediments and assume a muddy colouration. Scavengers, attracted to what seems like a dead fish, approach Nimbochromis to investigate, only to be eaten themselves. Ouch!

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Practice OWAD in a conversation today
say something like:

"We should keep an eye on this competitor. They appear to have abandoned the market, but I have reason to believe they are simply PLAYING POSSUM.”