This occurs in classrooms or other large public settings. Usually one person begins to cough, and other people who needed to cough, but were afraid to do so, join in, causing multiple coughing sounds at the same time.
Person 1: Ugh why does everyone have to cough at once, it's so annoying.
Person 2: It's the coughing effect, duh.
Person 2: It's the coughing effect, duh.
by hoyaplaya September 30, 2009
Get the coughing effectmug.