Crossword Genius

Close situation I encountered in international store in America? Not quite (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

intimacy

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

'close situation' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both states of affairs as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?

'i encountered in international store in america? not quite' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'i' could be 'a' and 'a' is found in the answer.
'in' is present in the answer.
'international' could be 'i' (abbreviation eg in IMF) and 'i' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for intimacy that I've seen before include "Close friendship" , "Close familiarity" , "close relationship" , "Emotional closeness" , "Sexual intercourse" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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