Meaning : Any place of pain and turmoil.
Example :
The hell of battle.
The inferno of the engine room.
When you're alone Christmas is the pits.
Synonyms : hell, hell on earth, hellhole, inferno, the pits
Meaning : Pejorative terms for an insane asylum.
Synonyms : bedlam, booby hatch, crazy house, cuckoo's nest, funny farm, funny house, loony bin, madhouse, nut house, nuthouse, sanatorium