the pits

Idioms  

1. The worst possible situation, as in Spending your birthday working alone is the pits, or That job is the pits. The allusion in this term is unclear. Some think it refers to coal pits, others to armpits, and still others to the area beside an auto racecourse, also called the pits, where cars are serviced during a race. [Second half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

the pits

Rosenqvist knew that by the time it returned to the pits, there would hardly be any racing left.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

In Las Vegas, although F1 is the promoter and built the location from scratch, it was decided to devote the entire structure above the pits to the Paddock Club for corporate guests, to maximise income.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

In the days of floor trading, those working in the pits needed to be human calculators, instantly assessing how prices fluctuated.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

Palou, whose Ganassi team excelled in the pits last April, agreed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026

Soon it appeared as a great winged creature, blacker than the pits in the night.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien