next door to

next door to idiom
Very close to, as in The old dog was next door to death. This metaphoric expression, alluding to an adjacent house, was first recorded in 1529.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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