Crossword Genius

Between cigarette ends, the band will fawn or grovel (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

cringe

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'grovel' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'between cigarette ends the band will fawn' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'band' could be 'ring' (a ring is a band of metal) and 'ring' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'or' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for cringe that I've seen before include "Shrink back, cower" , "Shrink away in fear" , "Cower in fear or disgust" , "obeisance" , "Recoil in embarrassment" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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