んばかりに

んばかりに says that something looked about to happen, to show how strong a feeling or a movement was: "as if to", "all but". It takes the verb's ない-form with ない dropped, so 言わない gives いわ言わんばかりに and 泣かない gives なか泣かんばかりに; する becomes せんばかりに.

The thing after ん does not happen. She did not cry and the tail stayed on; the pattern says how close it looked.

The pattern is written and narrative. In conversation you say いまに今にもなき泣きそうに or なき泣きそうなかお顔で.

The ん is not a negative

The stem is the one ない attaches to, but this ん is an old ending meaning "would", not the negative ん of しら知らん. 泣かんばかりに is "as if about to cry", never "as if not crying". The dictionary form does not go in front of it.

• × 泣くんばかりに → 泣かんばかりに

んばかりの and んばかりだ

Before a noun the form is んばかりの, and at the end of a sentence it is んばかりだ.

と言わんばかりに and とばかりに

After a quotation, と言わんばかりに and とばかりに mean the same: someone acts as if saying the words.