Crossword Genius

American tree-climbers work abroad, getting amounts of money (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

opossums

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'american tree-climbers' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'work abroad getting amounts of money' is the wordplay.
'work' becomes 'op' (abbreviation for opus).
'abroad getting' becomes 'os' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'amounts of money' becomes 'sums' (I've seen this before).
'op'+'os'+'sums'='OPOSSUMS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for opossums that I've seen before include "Small, furry, Australian marsupials" , "American marsupials" , "Mainly arboreal marsupials" , "animals" , "American natives" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app