as if (to say), seeming that
Structure
Quote + とばかり（に）
Noun +（だ）+ とばかり（に）
The combination of information in this sentence seems confusing:
盗賊たちが待っていたとばかりに通行人を止めたのです！
Seeming that they had been waiting, the robbers stopped the passersby!
Hint:
A formal structure, implying that something is done as if to say (A). Just with (A) acting as the trigger, (B).
“Seeming that they had been waiting”… Robbers were waiting acted as a trigger for stopping the passerby? What does that mean? The robbers thought to themselves, “hey, we are waiting (for something else) anyway, let’s stop that guy!”?
Or is this about robbers being in the right spot at the right time as if they were waiting for this specific passerby.
Just read this sentence today. I agree the translation isn’t the best. I interpreted it as “as if they were waiting.”
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