they blew the plane up : BOMB, blast, destroy; explode, detonate.
blow up the balloons : INFLATE, pump up, fill up, puff up, swell, expand, aerate.
things get blown up out of all proportion : EXAGGERATE, overstate, overstress, overestimate, magnify, amplify; aggrandize, embellish, elaborate.
I blew the picture up on a photocopier : ENLARGE, magnify, expand, increase.
2192; headword