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

Stranded out on track with a gearbox malfunction, he made it back to the pits where the team rushed to fix a problem they could not identify.

From BBC

Bortoleto missed a chance to start higher because his car broke down on the way back to the pits after the second knockout session.

From BBC

They opened for dealing in the pits of the Kansas City Board of Trade.

From The Wall Street Journal

But since the pits closed almost four decades ago, residents describe a slow and pained decline as people struggled to get well-paid, stable employment.

From BBC

The four-time champion had an off at Turn Five on his first lap out of the pits but was able to rejoin.

From BBC