A sudden explosion or violent outburst; an enlarged photograph or image; an angry quarrel or argument.
Compound noun formed from 'blow up' (to explode or enlarge). The hyphenated or two-word form 'blow up' became a single compound noun 'blowup' in the early 20th century.
The brilliance of 'blowup' is that it captures three completely different situations—a literal explosion, a blown-up photo, or an emotional explosion—all with one word because they share that sense of something suddenly becoming bigger or bursting.
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