to the effect

• to that effect, to this effect

to the effect

1. With more or less the meaning of.

   He was vague but said something to the effect that he'd do it soon.

   • 2012 August 25, David Streitfeld, “The Best Book Reviews Money Can Buy”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     […] why not cut out the middleman and write the review himself? Then it would say exactly what the client wanted — that it was a terrific book. A shattering novel. A classic memoir. Will change your life. Lyrical and gripping, Stunning and compelling. Or words to that effect.

• be like

• “to the effect that” (US) / “to the effect that” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “to the effect”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “to the effect that”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “to that effect”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “to this that the effect” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.