The term “Jesus clip” is a comical reference given to it due to its tendency to come loose and launch itself at high speed while removing or installing it, often leading to the remark “Oh Jesus, where did it go man?”
A circlip (a portmanteau of “circle” and “clip”), also known as a C-clip, snap ring, or Jesus clip, is a type of fastener or retaining ring that consists of a semi-flexible metal ring with open ends that can be snapped into place into a machined groove on a dowel pin or other part to permit rotation but to prevent axial movement.
That is absolutely 100% not the remark that inspired it.
then, if you have a minute to spare, i would like to know what inspired it?
It was definitely closer to something like ‘Jesus…Fuck!! <muttered grumbling>’’
Everything in this post is so wrong.
The image is a snap ring.
A Circlip doesn’t have holes, and is often an inside clip.
A Jesus Clip is a whole other thing with a different shape that I can’t describe in words.
This is what everybody I know calls a circlip, and what Master-Carr returns when I search for that term, and that’s as good an authority as I need. A quick survey of web sites leads me to believe that it’s snap rings that have no holes. I’d say that there’s quite a bit of ambiguity around the various terms.
I do think there are a few different clips that earn the name, it’s just usually not in an ‘aw shucks, where did that go, man’ type expletive.
Does seem like the description and pictures have a few additional issues.