Cryptic crossword clue
Enthusiast, hugging wife with son, cringes to seek favour 5

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word FAWNS

I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
F
A
W
N
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "cringes to seek favour" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case cringes to seek favour = fawns.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does FAWNS mean?

FAWNS noun
  1. A young deer.
  2. A pale brown colour tinted with yellow, like that of a fawn.
  3. The young of an animal; a whelp.
FAWNS verb
  1. To give birth to a fawn.
FAWNS noun
  1. A servile cringe or bow.
  2. Base flattery.
FAWNS verb
  1. To exhibit affection or attempt to please.
  2. To seek favour by flattery and obsequious behaviour (with on or upon).
  3. (of a dog) To show devotion or submissiveness by wagging its tail, nuzzling, licking, etc.

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