Crossword Genius

Secret place Oscar's approaching (5,2)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

close to

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

'secret place oscar's approaching' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'secret place oscar's' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'secret' could be 'closet' (synonyms) and 'closet' is present in the answer.
'oscar' could be 'o' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.) and 'o' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for close to that I've seen before include "near" , "Nearly" , "'Nearby (5,2)'" .)

I've seen this clue in The 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.