The key here is that it always included "IBM" in some way. "IBM-compatible" or "IBM PC", or "IBM clone" or something along those lines. "PC" without reference

The key here is that it always included "IBM" in some way. "IBM-compatible" or "IBM PC", or "IBM clone" or something along those lines. "PC" without reference to IBM was not specifically tied to the Wintel ecosystem, at least outside of Mac user circles, until comparatively recently.