close to home

Idioms and Phrases

Also, where one lives . Affecting one intimately and personally, as in That description of orphans really was too close to home , or The teacher's criticisms of her work got her where she lives . The noun home here means “the heart of something,” a usage dating from the late 1800s; the variant was first recorded in 1860. Both of these colloquialisms are sometimes preceded by hit , that is, something is said to hit close to home or hit one where one lives , as in That remark about their marriage hit close to home . Also see too close for comfort (to home) .