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

"Mackerel sky, mackerel sky, not long wet nor not long dry," said a man in a black silk top hat to Tristran and Yvaine.

From Literature

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

From The Guardian

The lilies had died back to the ground; the bark of the crepe myrtles had all peeled away; there was a mackerel sky.

From Literature

But now they were higher and smaller, settling at last into a mackerel sky like a beach at low tide.

From Literature