snake pit

Definition of Snake Pit in English :

any place of pain and turmoil

Example Sentences:
'the hell of battle'
'the inferno of the engine room'
'when you're alone Christmas is the pits'

pejorative terms for an insane asylum

WordNet Lexical Database for English. Princeton University. 2010.

Snake Pit

noun informal

1.

a place characterized by chaos, mutual hostility, or extreme competitiveness

a snake pit of corporate competitiveness

He does not accept that Hollywood is a snake pit of money men, brutally indifferent to the artist.

Many parents feel that socially mixed schools are really snake pits into which their child is being hurled.

2. offensive

a psychiatric hospital

1.

a pit where snakes are kept

2. US, Informal

a place of horror and confusion, as a crowded mental hospital where patients are improperly cared for

n.
Slang

1. A place full of disorder, lawlessness, and often malice.

2. A mental hospital, especially one that is overcrowded and chaotic.