# It's a MAGAZINE not a Clip **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 17, 2013, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474 "2013-01-17T05:41:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/41 "2013-01-17T14:39:58Z")
Well, I guess we’ll all just call them bison from now on. Happy? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/42 "2013-01-17T14:40:59Z")
I think I understand the distinction now. One of them is a thingamajig and the other is a whadayacallit. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/43 "2013-01-17T14:44:00Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Do you have to know a lot about alcohol and what goes into various mixed drinks to be against drunk driving? If you’re going to argue that alcohol above a certain proof should be banned, you should probably know the difference between methyl and ethyl. I’m in favor of safer cars too but I’m not qualified to tell auto-makers how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/44 "2013-01-17T14:44:26Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > I’d take the clip/magazine mixup every day of the week and twice on Sunday if I never hve to hear my Peruvian reporters talking about “12mm caliber shotgun shells”. What, they’ve never heard the term _dozen gauge_? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/45 "2013-01-17T14:49:00Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > If you’re going to argue that alcohol above a certain proof should be banned, you should probably know the difference between methyl and ethyl. I’m in favor of safer cars too but I’m not qualified to tell auto-makers how to do it. Ethyl was Lucy’s friend. Not sure who Methyl is. Was she on _Green Acres_? ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/46 "2013-01-17T14:50:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Ethyl was Lucy’s friend. Not sure who Methyl is. Was she on _Green Acres_? Methyl was Ethyl’s evil meth addict twin. She was married to Ferd and lived in the basement. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/47 "2013-01-17T14:52:10Z")
As far as I’m concerned, a magazine is the place where artillery shells are stored. On a repeating rifle, it’s the place where the rounds are kept prior to being chambered. Some repeating rifles have removable magazines, others don’t. Ones that don’t are either loaded one round at a time, or with a bunch of rounds _clipped_ together. I learned this from some pedant in my first gun debate a couple decades ago. It wasn’t that hard to learn, and so I somewhat agree with the OP; if knowing the distinction can avoid this derailment in future arguments, it’s worth the 2 seconds to learn it. That said, everyone who grew up watching WWII movies knows that when you need to shove more bullets into your Nazi-killing device, you scream that you need a clip. Therefore, I don’t begrudge anyone for just referring to anything that they need to shove into a gun to make more noise a “clip.” And Merriam-Webster’s definition reflects that popular usage. So, the way I see it, everyone who doesn’t understand the terminology should take the 2 seconds to learn it, and everyone who gives a shit about the difference should stop harassing common folk who just like to watch movies. Then we can all get on with the previously scheduled showdown. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/48 "2013-01-17T14:52:41Z")
To the OP, or other nit-pickers who may want to chime in, how would you feel about a reporter calling the venerable M1911 an automatic pistol? ---
**Author:** ![Tamarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tamarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamarin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/49 "2013-01-17T14:53:31Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > “It looks like you’re planning a massacre. Would you like help?” > > —“Maggy,” the Arsenal Assistant ^^^Too funny! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/50 "2013-01-17T14:58:53Z")
I can get behind the morons in journalism pitting. I cringe every time a reporter says the pilot stalled his engine and crashed his plane. That’s like admitting they haven’t the slightest clue about what they are reporting. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/51 "2013-01-17T15:01:20Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I can get behind the morons in journalism pitting. I cringe every time a reporter says the pilot stalled his engine and crashed his plane. That’s like admitting they haven’t the slightest clue about what they are reporting. This thread is more akin to a motorhead getting upset about Fox 5 local news covering the car show, as opposed to the _auto show._ ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/52 "2013-01-17T15:01:50Z")
Whether you call it a clip or call it a magazine, you still have a small penis. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/53 "2013-01-17T15:03:33Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I can get behind the morons in journalism pitting. I cringe every time a reporter says the pilot stalled his engine and crashed his plane. That’s like admitting they haven’t the slightest clue about what they are reporting. OK, since we’re getting serious, I want to strangle, with my bare hands, any reporter who calls a fossil a “missing link”. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/54 "2013-01-17T15:03:45Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > To the OP, or other nit-pickers who may want to chime in, how would you feel about a reporter calling the venerable M1911 an automatic pistol? I would say someone looked it up on Wiki and didn’t know much about firearms. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/55 "2013-01-17T15:04:43Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > To the OP, or other nit-pickers who may want to chime in, how would you feel about a reporter calling the venerable M1911 an automatic pistol? Well, I know it’s properly a _semi_-automatic, but I don’t have a problem categorizing common pistols\* as either automatics or revolvers depending on the chambering system. The repeated use of “assault weapon” is getting on my nerves, though. - i.e. not including exotic or antique pistols that don’t fit either category ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/56 "2013-01-17T15:12:23Z")
Gun grabbers don’t want or need to know anything about what they seek to ban. Knowing that they hate them and those who own them is enough. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/57 "2013-01-17T15:16:48Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > To the OP, or other nit-pickers who may want to chime in, how would you feel about a reporter calling the venerable M1911 an automatic pistol? Again, I learned the difference from some pedant, but a an 18-wheeler isn’t a tractor/trailer, it’s a tractor/semi-trailer, because the trailer doesn’t support all of its own weight. And I don’t get annoyed when people refer to them as a “truck and trailer” instead of a “truck and semi-trailer” because I think the former is acceptable under the rules of English. That’s because a semi-trailer is a kind of trailer, just like a semi-automatic weapon is a kind of automatic weapon, in the sense that the weapon does something for you automatically. When talking specifics, I always prefer to specify fully-automatic or semi-automatic, but if someone says, “True or false, an M1911 is an automatic weapon,” I would say true, even though I know that lots of pedants would disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/58 "2013-01-17T15:18:07Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I would say someone looked it up on Wiki and didn’t know much about firearms. 😛 No, Wiki calls it a semi-auto in the first sentence. But a lot of the official terminology around that gun skips the semi part, including the name of the ammunition it fires. If you were telling a fellow gun enthusiast what pistols you own, wouldn’t you just call it a 45 auto? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/59 "2013-01-17T15:19:52Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > This thread is more akin to a motorhead getting upset about Fox 5 local news covering the car show, as opposed to the _auto show._ Or a recreational drug aficionado getting steamed when things like cocaine and ecstasy are referred to as “narcotics.” Golly, does that make me mad. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474/60 "2013-01-17T15:20:33Z")
Hey, I’m pissed that people use ‘uncountable’ to mean ‘too many to count’ rather than its mathematical definition of ‘an infinite number, of cardinality too great to be put into one-to-one correspondence with the integers.’ Actually, I’m not the least bit pissed about that. I don’t insist that everyone use words exactly the way someone knowledgeable in my field would; I think such an expectation would be unreasonable. I think the OP should have the same attitude. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-magazine-not-a-clip/647474.md?page=4)