The spy’s repeated bungling was, above all else

2 answer choices for 1 blank The spy’s repeated bungling was, above all else, _____ those who wished to thwart her efforts, since it was so unpredictable as to obscure any pattern that might otherwise lead to her capture. an obstacle to, a signal to, a hindrance to, an indication for, a snare for, a boon to

3 Explanations

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jialu bi

what does as to means?

Sep 29, 2017 • Comment

Adam

Hi Jialu,

The construction "So [adj.] as to [verb]" means that something is very [adj.], and as a result of this, [action X] occurs.

Does that make sense?

Sep 29, 2017 • Reply

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Darnell Billups

i was confused with the word snare. Snare has you think it's something that would stop you because i've heard people say, "don't run into that snare." So i was thinking that a snare is a thing that can hold you back or be a hinderance. It confused me greatly because I was down to three choices: obstacle, hindrance, and snare. I picked snare and hindrance. i think this was a trap for some people like me who have an idea of what a snare it but have never seen on or ever looked up the definition. a snare is a thing likely to lure or tempt someone into harm or error. with that definition, it's clearly not the answer. furthermore, the GRE loves to places answer choice that even have a tangential relationship to the actual answer. At that point, you just need to calm down, make a logical guess, and keep moving because every second counts.

Oct 24, 2016 • Comment

Dweep Gogia

Thanks for the advice Darnell!

Apr 19, 2017 • Reply

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Chris Lele, Magoosh Tutor

Sep 22, 2012 • Comment

Did not understand why its A and C. Since the aim is to catch the spy, her repeated bungling would be a boon for those who want to catch her right ?

Oct 11, 2018 • Reply

Sam Kinsman, Magoosh Tutor

Yes, you are right - but don't forget the second part of the sentence:

....since it (the bungling) was so unpredictable as to obscure any pattern that might otherwise lead to her capture.

So the spy's bungling was so unpredictable, that nobody ever knew where the spy would be, or what the spy would do. Nobody could figure out what her next move would be! Because of that, nobody could capture her. There was not pattern that would allow people to capture her. So therefore, we know that the spy's bungling was actually a hindrance to people who tried to stop her.

Oct 13, 2018 • Reply

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The spy’s repeated bungling was, above all else

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Section 4: Verbal

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