close as..., adj. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

close as... adj.

In phrases

...a shirt and shitten arse (also …an arse and a shirt)

extremely close.

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1922		Joyce Ulysses 382: In short he and the bull of Ireland were soon as fast friends as an arse and a shirt.

...God’s curse to a whore’s arse

very close.

1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.

...ninety-nine to one hundred

(US black) extremely close, as close as possible.

1942

Z.N. Hurston ‘Story in Harlem Sl.’ in Novels and Stories (1995) 1003: She was one of them coal-scuttle blondes with hair just as close to her head as ninety-nine is to a hundred.

...one and two

(US black) extremely close, as close as possible.

1935

Ted Yates This Is New York 29 Mar. [synd. col.] Damasqua Baker and Hilton (YMCA) Meyers are closer tha one and two.