It is correct to write mother of pearl (without the hyphens) as well as mother-of-pearl (with the hyphens). Either way you want to write it is correct but you may be surprised to learn that mother of pearl is not a pearl at all. Mother of pearl does have some similarities to pearls.
The âring around the rosieâ was the circle of townspeople tending the pyre of bodies being burned in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease, hence, âashes, ashesâ, and âwe all fall downâ attests to the futility of this practice. As I heard the storyâ¦.
Children were apparently reciting this plague-inspired nursery rhyme for over six hundred years before someone finally figured out what they were talking about, as the first known mention of a plague interpretation of Ring Around the Rosie didn't show up until James Leasor published The Plague and the Fire in 1961.