Crossword Genius

Cautious fish comes to sticky end (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

chary

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

'cautious' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'fish comes to sticky end' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'fish' could be 'char' (char is a kind of fish) and 'char' is present in the answer.
A single letter 'y' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chary that I've seen before include "cagy" , "Cautious, wary" , "Cautiously reluctant" , "Circumspect" , "Careful" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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