Meaning & use
holey mackerel
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Meaning
nouncountableregional
A spotted mackerel of warm seas, especially one with dark spots along its side that resemble small holes.
Grammar: Countable: one holey mackerel, several holey mackerels; the plural is rare because the fish is usually talked about as a food or catch.
Patterns
- catch a holey mackerel
- a school of holey mackerel
Fishermen off the Queensland coast often bring in a holey mackerel in summer.
The holey mackerel is named for the row of dark spots along its flank.
Word forms
| plural | holey mackerels |
|---|---|
| plural | holey mackerel |
Common combinations
- catch a holey mackerel
- They caught a holey mackerel just before the tide turned.
- a school of holey mackerel
- A school of holey mackerel moved through the clear water.
- fresh holey mackerel
- The market sells fresh holey mackerel in the warmer months.
- the holey mackerel's spots
- You can identify it by the holey mackerel's spots.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spotted mackerel
- The more common name for the same fish in many places, and the safer choice if you are not sure which regional name to use.
- mackerel
- The general word for the whole family of fish; use it when the exact species does not matter.
Word family
- mackerel noun
- The general name for this family of oily, fast-swimming sea fish.
Commonly confused: holey mackerel or holy mackerel?
holey mackerel vs holy mackerel
This sounds almost the same but is an exclamation of surprise, not a fish; 'holey' means full of holes.
Practice
Which sentence uses the fish name correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A holey mackerel' is the singular countable form of the fish name. Option 2 confuses it with the exclamation 'holy mackerel', and options 3 and 4 use impossible plural or possessive forms after 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “holey mackerel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.