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While reading the second volume of 僕の愛したジークフリード I found this sentence:

> 彼女の剣腕は魔術と見まごうばかりに圧倒的で、僕はそれを未知の魔術と推測して彼女を追いかけた

I know ばかりに can mean ["only, nothing but"](https://jlptsensei.com/learn-
japanese-grammar/%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A-bakari-meaning/) and ["simply
because"](https://jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-
grammar/%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AB-bakari-ni-meaning/), but these
meanings doesn't seem to fit in that sentence.

I know とばかりに, with intial と, means something along "as if, as though"
([one](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/29713/noun%E3%81%A8%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AB-
mean) related answer,
[another](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5395/what-exactly-
does-%E3%81%A8%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AB-mean)), so I as wondering:
can it have that meaning also without the initial と? Is it a typo? Or is it a
different construction?
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grammar
Meaning of ばかりに
This ばかり is roughly the same as ほど, or "almost (to the point where ～)".
魔術と見まごうばかりに圧倒的 is the same as 魔術と見まごうほど圧倒的, or "overwhelming to the point
where one mistakes it as magic" or "so overwhelming that I almost mistook it
as magic".

In JLPT, a similar construction seems to be taught as an N1 grammar point
([JLPT N1 Grammar: んばかりに (n bakari ni)](https://jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-
grammar/%E3%82%93%E3%81%B0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8A%E3%81%AB-n-bakari-ni-meaning/)),
but somehow all the example sentences contain
[ん](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/90256/5010). In reality, this ん is
not necessarily mandatory, so 見まがわんばかりに and 見まがうばかりに can be used
interchangeably. For example, 割れんばかりの拍手, 割れるばかりの拍手, 割れんほどの拍手 and 割れるほどの拍手 are
all correct, though the first one may sound the most idiomatic. (As an
exception, ～と言わんばかり is a fixed phrase and 言うばかり is rare.)

Note: みま **ご** う is a variation that appears only in the
predicative/attributive form. See
[this](https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E8%A6%8B%E7%B4%9B%E3%81%86).
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とばかりに should have derived from と言わんばかりに (or とXんばかりに for some verb X).

Note all the examples from the linked answers work with 言わん inserted.

  * 父は出て行けと **言わん** ばかりに玄関を指さした
  * 雨がやんだので、チャンスと **言わん** ばかりに外に出た
  * 花嫁修業と **言わん** ばかりに料理教室に通った
  * 難しい本を読み切ったので、お祝いと **言わん** ばかりにシャンパンを買って帰った

As naruto's answer says, the basic meaning of ばかりに is _to the degree ...
will_.

Literally と言わんばかりに means _to the degree (the subject) will (almost) say..._ ,
which (mostly) naturally renders _as if_.

* * *

ばかりに without と appears when it is used with verbs (in volitional form) that
does not take quotative と, as in 見まごうばかり

Examples

  * 頭が割れんばかりにいたい My head aches to the degree it will break
  * 酒があふれんばかりに注がれていた The sake filled (up a cup) to the degree it will spill over
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