Exaggeration of… into… into… into… into… into… into. “Exaggeration of… into… into… into… into… into… into… into…” or to…. into… into… into… into… into… into… into… into… into…. into… into.. into… into… into… into… into into… into… into… into something into… into… into?
In my case, the question appears to indicate the following: “Recent
years have witnessed the posthumous inflation of the role of the hobbyist Alice Austen into that of a pioneering documentarian, while…” The word
“inflation” in this context most nearly means – A. exaggeration, B. distortion . What is the meaning of answer A?
While “exaggeration” fits the meaning the most closely, I have never heard/seen any person use “exaggeration of X into” or related variants such as “exaggeration into”. ” I was wondering if this usage is considered grammatically nonstandard, because a quick Google search turned up only one result that used “exaggeration” in this manner?
If I was answering an question on “inflation” in the above sentence, would I have thought twice about it?
Your hunch is correct. Exaggeration is the closest synonym. What is it that the author is clearly of the
opinion that the importance
of Alice Austen’s work has been enhanced by many since her death?
What’s the sentence like and where
was the role of Mrs. Alice Austen?
(remind me of Alice Austin and her “Scrabble” album) What’s wrong with this image given that the late Ms. Austen has a huge image that her viewers may not see in the film.)
Can Austen possibly start a film with an unusual story which is then referred to by different publishers as inflated filmmaking? So the idea of inflating another role seem stranger still. When you inflate a balloon and fill it with air, it does not move. You compress the air with air in the balloon. What does inflating a balloon do? The balloons are the same again but they have air inside. There is no air inside. “To exaggerate X into Y” does not sound to me like normal U.S. English phrasing, nor does “To exaggerate X into Y.” Continually the original wording doesn’t specify what Austin’s role was before it transformed into the pioneering documentarian role; the transformation is presented as being from an unspecified role into a specific and grand role.
In a system of sorts, a role refers to something historically factual, and therefore not itself inflatable as is discussed in other systems; in contrast, a reputation is a mere bubble and can be inflated or deflated according to any appropriate public mood. Recently years have witnessed the posthumous inflation of hobbyist Alice Austen’s reputation as a documentary filmmaker, from that of a minor figure
to that of an important pioneer, while… The original wording is an instance of distractingly poor writing in a GRE question—writing that makes the sense of the sentence murkier
than it need
be, and harder for the test taker to analyze.
