I disagree on semantics, but agree on principle.
Clipping by definition is when the peaks of the output waveform don't follow the input. The farther it is pushed the more that is clipped. At some point it become audible, and after that visible on a scope as a flatten (DC) line. It is silly when reviewing an amp to say it has reached maximum usable power when if fails to track the peak by a microvolt, as you said that's completely inaudible. But by the time you can see it on a scope, your tweets are on their way out.
So yeah, the amp was "clipping", but not in the audible sense, and far from the olfactory sense.
