At home with pal or close to being out? (2,3)
I believe the answer is:
in bud
'close to being out?' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.
'at home with pal' is the wordplay.
'at home' becomes 'in' ('I'm in' can mean 'I'm at home').
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'pal' becomes 'bud' (I've seen this in another clue).
'in'+'bud'='IN BUD'
'or' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for in bud that I've seen before include "immature" , "About to flower" , "Shooting" .)