Crossword Genius

Close shave from an object within reach? (4,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

near thing

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'close shave' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'an object within reach?' is the wordplay.
'an object' becomes 'N' (N is an example).
'within reach?' becomes 'earthing' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'n'+'earthing'='NEAR THING'

'from' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for near thing that I've seen before include "Narrow escape, missed by a small margin (4.5)" , "Lucky escape" , "almost a disaster" , "Something that barely avoids failure or disaster" , "dangerous" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.