Crossword Genius

Fat fool keeping almost emaciated First Lady very close (5,2,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thick as thieves

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

'close' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'fat fool keeping almost emaciated first lady' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'fat' could be 'thick' (similar in meaning) and 'thick' is present in the answer.
'first' could be 'i' (I in Roman numerals eg Elizabeth I) and 'i' is found in the answer.
'lady' could be 'eve' (woman's name) and 'eve' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'very' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for thick as thieves that I've seen is " Friendly".)

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