hit/strike home

To be fully understood by or strongly affect or resonate with someone. It wasn't until he was threatened with losing his job that the comments about John's work ethic really hit home. The film has an underlying theme of grief and loss that will hit home with a lot of viewers. My patient's diagnosis really hits home, as my uncle recently died of the same thing.

To be fully understood by or strongly affect or resonate with someone. It wasn't until he was threatened with losing his job that the comments about John's work ethic really struck home. The film has an underlying theme of grief and loss that will strike home with a lot of viewers.

Fig. to really make sense; [for a comment] to make a very good point. Mary's criticism of my clothes hit home, so I changed. The teacher's comment struck home and the student vowed to work harder.

COMMON If a situation or what someone says hits home or strikes home, people realize that it is real or true, even though it may be unpleasant. In many cases the reality of war doesn't hit home until people are actually called upon to fight. David's accusation about his motives had hit home more than he cared to admit. The severity of the situation struck home last week when hundreds of troops entered the town.