Crossword Genius

Try to ingratiate yourself with the shy little creature (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

fawn

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

'creature' is the definition.

'try to ingratiate yourself with the shy little' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'with' could be 'w' (abbreviation) and 'w' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'fan' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for fawn that I've seen before include "Pale brown" , "Cringe" , "Bear does, maybe" , "Young deer - beige colour" , "Light grey-brown colour" .)

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