Crossword Genius

Disastrous little bit of toxic smoke rising (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tragic

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

'disastrous' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'little bit of toxic smoke rising' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'bit' could be 'rag' (I have seen 'Bit of cloth ' mean 'rag' so perhaps 'bit' could also mean 'rag') and 'rag' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'tic' is a valid word 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 tragic that I've seen before include "Disastrous, desperately sad" , "'Very, very sad (6)'" , "Pathetic" , "Deeply distressing" , "Shocking" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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