Editing 326: Effect an Effect

{{comic
| number    = 326
| date      = October 8, 2007
| title     = Effect an Effect
| image     = effect_an_effect.png
| titletext = Time to paint another grammarian silhouette on the side of the desktop.
}}

==Explanation==
[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/affect "Affect"] and [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/effect?s=t "effect"] can each both be a noun and a verb, share the sense of ''influence'', and they are often confused with each other. (See the usage note under "Affect.")

In careful speech, both words (as verbs) are similar but not identical. "Affect" is /əˈfɛkt/ (or uh-'''fekt''') and "effect" is /ɪˈfɛkt/ (or ih-'''fekt'''). However, for some people, these words are {{w|homophones}} — it's also explained here: [http://www.writingforward.com/grammar/homophones/homophones-affect-vs-effect homophones affect vs effect].

"Effect" is usually a noun, meaning ''a result'', and "affect" usually a verb, meaning ''to act upon''. "Effect" as a verb has the slightly different meaning ''to bring about''. [[Cueball]] says that the foreign policy ''causes'' the situation, not, as the "grammar nazi" thinks, that it ''changes'' the situation.

The title of the comic translates to ''cause or bring about a result'', which is just what Cueball does! It can also be seen as a play on words, being similar to the phrase "cause and effect."

The title text refers to the {{w|Victory marking}} practice common among fighter pilots in a war zone. Fighter pilots who score a "kill" on an opposing aircraft will have a silhouette of the downed plane painted on the side of their plane as a way of keeping track of kills. In this sense, Cueball "shot down," figuratively speaking, an online (grammar) nazi, and would mark it by painting a silhouette on the side of his computer.

See also [[1429: Data]].

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Using the more obscure meanings of "affect" and "effect" to try to trip up amateur grammar Nazis.
:Cueball: I think that our foreign policy effects the situation.
:Computer: You mean "affects."
:Cueball: tee hee hee

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Language]]