Perhaps I'm getting bogged down in semantics, but with all this talk about the renewal of the 'assault weapons' ban, I'm hearing a lot of misused terminology. Anyone that refers to a rifle or pistol magazine as a 'clip' has been watching too many action movies. A clip is what feeds the magazine, and a magazine is what feeds the firearm. Some magazines are detachable, while others are fixed. A clip is a device that holds rounds together to make loading a magazine easier.

For those of you that have trouble picturing the difference, allow me to illustrate. This is a clip. This is a magazine. This is a clip feeding a magazine. Get the picture?

(photos courtesy of here and here)