Holy Macro! Mackerel??

A few weeks ago I responded to something Chris was telling me with the phrase "Holy Macro!" *You know, like when someone says that they saw fifteen rats outside the train station on their way home from work tonight, eating bird seed someone had spread on the sidewalk by a construction site, you might say HOLY COW! Fifteen rats?! Or when you hear that it was 61 degrees outside on Monday, you might say, Holy Moley! That's warm weather!

Did you just say 'macro'? He asked me.. This turned into a debate on whether or not the phrase was holy macro, or holy mackerel. We turned to the ever trusty Google search to see who was right. I was not. Baffled, I could not believe that the phrase was indeed holy mackerel.. I had always said holy macro and was sure that any time someone else said it they were saying macro too. Apparently, I was mistaken. Or was I really? Do you say macro or mackerel?

Apparently the phrase dates back to the late 17th/early 18th century. Other than just a silly word to substitute for another in a holy oath so as not to blaspheme, I found some reasons as to why this phrase came about, such as a form of insult to Roman Catholic immigrants who didn't eat meat on Fridays so they ate fish (ie: mackerel, because it was very cheap to get) instead. Similar to holy cow- because the of the Hindu belief of reincarnation and cows being sacred. Also, I learned that the word mackerel sounds similar to a French word, maquereau, meaning 'pimp' which is possibly where the term 'Mack Daddy' came from. Huh.. I wonder if those cool guys who like being called a mack daddy would still feel cool if they knew it was actually a cheap fish they were being labeled as...

*note: I did in fact see at least fifteen rats on the sidewalk (just beyond the stairs you go down) as I approached the entrance to the train station tonight on my way home from work. Who would spread bird seed outside a construction site for the rats?? People were really grossed out about it.. it was pretty startling to me and my knees were shaking as I tried to get a picture on my phone. I wish I had had my camera with me. Here is a picture of the picture on my phone. All those dark blobs.. those are rats, or clumps of rats. They weren't even phased by the people walking into the train- they were so focused on eating.. only the smaller ones would back off when someone approached, the big fat ones just kept on eating. Sick. There were a lot more in the shadow but it was too dark and they didn't show up in the photo.

*a second note: It was in fact 61 degrees on Monday. For those of you who wonder why we don't want to come home for Christmas this year.. that is why. Sorry Minnesota winters, but we can no longer tolerate you.