日本語道場 — Nihongo Dojo

～とばかりに

~to bakari ni

as if to say

When to use it

Use ～とばかりに to describe someone's manner or attitude as if they were saying the quoted words — though they never actually said them. It appears in narrative and reportage-style writing (meeting minutes, magazine profiles, internal accounts of negotiations) to convey a forceful, unmistakable air behind an action. Normally used of a third party, not of yourself, and the main clause must describe a visible action or reaction.

Formation

Verb (plain form, any tense/politeness inside the quote) + とばかりに → 「待ってました」とばかりに / 帰れとばかりに
i-adjective (plain) + とばかりに → もう十分だ…ではなく、忙しいとばかりに
na-adjective + だ + とばかりに → 無関係だとばかりに
Noun + だ + とばかりに → 好機は今だとばかりに（quotation-marked nouns and interjections also occur: 「これでもか」とばかりに）
The clause before と is treated as a quotation, so plain, polite, and imperative forms all appear; と may be written with 「」 in formal prose.

Examples

As if he'd been waiting for it, the manager raised his hand.
As if to say the discussion was over, the other party stood up.
As if to say he'd brook no objections, the president closed the file.
Seizing the moment, he broached a price cut as if to say now or never.
He listened to the report in silence, as if to say it had nothing to do with him.