| E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898. |
| | | Fairy Rings. | | |
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Circles of rank or withered grass, often seen in lawns, meadows, and grass-plots. Said to be produced by the fairies dancing on the spot. In sober truth, these rings are simply an ag’aric or fungus below the surface, which has seeded in a circular range, as many plants do. Where the ring is brown and almost bare, the “spawn” is of a greyish-white colour. The grass dies because the spawn envelops the roots so as to prevent their absorbing moisture; but where the grass is rank the “spawn” is dead, and serves as manure to the young grass. | 1 |
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| By moonshine do the green-sour ringlets make, |
| Whereof the ewe not bites.” | |
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Shakespeare: Tempest, v. 1. |
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