mackerel sky

American  

noun

1. an extensive group of cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds, especially when well-marked in their arrangement: so called because of a resemblance to the scales on a mackerel.

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mackerel sky British  

noun

1. a sky patterned with cirrocumulus or small altocumulus clouds

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Etymology

Origin of mackerel sky

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

The colors in her fur are like a mackerel sky.

From The Guardian

We stay in the present moment and talk about the mackerel sky and the planes she thinks are birds.

From The Guardian

Another form that the cirro stratus may assume is the mackerel sky,—clouds with the light and shade of the scales of a fish.

From Project Gutenberg

When the cirrus and cumulus are combined, in well-defined roundish masses, what is familiarly described as a “mackerel sky” is beautifully presented.

From Project Gutenberg

For example, what can be more beautiful than that compound modification of cloud forms commonly called a “mackerel sky,” which is sometimes seen on a summer evening?

From Project Gutenberg