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¦.
So, what does Ring Around the Rosie mean, then? Folklorist Philip Hiscock suggests: The more likely explanation is to be found in the religious ban on dancing among many Protestants in the nineteenth century, in Britain as well as here in North America.