(Untitled)

[kalquessa]

TO: The World
ATTN: Hollywood, Stephen King, Fanfic authors
RE: Your continued misuse of basic firearms-related terminology

It's not a clip. It's a magazine.

No, I'm sure. Yes, there are times when it really is a clip, and no, this is not one of those times. It never is.

No, seriously, it's not.

I don't care. It's a magazine. Mag, if you like

Comments

[bellatemple]

You know, my TEFL instruction professor (which is possibly the most redundant phrase I've ever typed non-ironically) made a very interesting point during one of our classes, a couple years ago. He made it regarding saying "Me and Bob" or "Bob and I". Grammatically correct or not, "me and Bob" is quite often what people will say, and we were there to teach our students the common usage of English.

I kinda wanted to punch him in the face, but I understood his point.

Perhaps in the case of this clip v. magazine issue it's a matter of context. One would not, for instance, have someone who learned about their weaponry through a strict training program, such as the armed forces, refer to a magazine as a clip, but for one who learned about their weaponry in a very informal setting, such as a street thug, it might be perfectly acceptable.

I'm avoiding formatting treasury tables right now, which would explain why I'm putting far too much thought into this as a question. But consider that one might call any adhesive bandage a "bandaid", and bottled tomato paste "ketchup". Common usage is a very, very powerful thing, when it comes to language.

[kalquessa]

Very true, and I agree re. the street thug example. That's how I handwave away the one instance of this that I can recall in Supernatural: Dean says "burn a clip in him" and while I can't imagine John teaching the boys incorrect terminology, I can see Dean using the term as part of a slang phrase like that for effect. (And yes, I am thinking about this way, way too much, why do you ask? *grin*)

[bellatemple]

Now I have a mental image of Sam and Dean in their youth, all by their lonesome and encountering something horrible.

And Dean says they need to "burn a clip in it". And Sammy goes "But Deeeeeeean, it's not a clip, it's a magazine!"

[kalquessa]

*cracks up* That is awesome. Yay, Sammy is my fellow OCD terminology freak!

[bellatemple]

You know he totally would be.

. . . Hmph. My procrastination on tables is kicking my butt, as now we might not make deadline because no one else is bothering to pick up the last two bits that, well, if I hadn't procrastinated, I'd've had done by now.

I like thinking about grammar, vocab, and their proper or improper usage in regards to character, better.

[kalquessa]

I like thinking about grammar, vocab, and their proper or improper usage in regards to character, better.

As do I. Posts like this were my main defense against the Giant Data Entry Project of Doom that I finished a few weeks ago.