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

Zed was discovered two decades ago when the Los Angeles County Museum of Art began carving out an underground parking garage next door to the pits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

To date, La Brea Tar Pits researchers have unearthed millions of samples from the pits dating back 50,000 years and still conduct daily open-air excavations.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2026

Prowl through the Strip after dark, sift through the pits, and you’ll feel the difference.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

Hulkenberg succeeded in guiding his damaged car back to the pits for repairs – a new front and rear wing - and was permitted to rejoin the fray once the barriers were repaired.

From Barron's • Nov. 8, 2025

I like him, but his timing is the pits.

From "Shouting at the Rain" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt