close to home

Idioms  

1. 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, as in That remark about their marriage hit close to home. Also see too close for comfort (to home).

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Example Sentences

Here, Paltrow plays a glamorous and witty former movie star, Kay Stone, a part that is unquestionably close to home for the semi-retired actress.

From Salon

But the threats to the Mayer even faced unexpected competition close to home, when the local park board tried to start up a series of free movies in the park on Friday nights.

From Salon

"The remote sensing techniques we refined in this paper are the exact same methods we can use to monitor safety issues close to home," he explained.

From Science Daily

That is not known, but the Ospreys were known to have made competitive offers for them to stay and both players were seen as two who would be keen to remain close to home.

From BBC

Four albums later, Kerr told People she’s grateful to have the option to stay close to home and family for a while, because her heart hasn’t been into touring and performing like it once was.

From Los Angeles Times