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

Antonelli gained enough time on his fresher tyres to be ahead when Norris came out of the pits.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

Exiting the pits in the closing stages of the race, Zanardi made a mistake and spun on to the track.

From BBC ● May 2, 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

“A baby deathbull.'' A pair of these beautiful massive pit bulls sat at the entrance of the Underworld back home ready to stare into the pits of a person's soul. “Where'd you get him?”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton