Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1. 
 any place of pain and turmoil; 
- Example: "the hell of battle"- Example: "the inferno of the engine room"- Example: "when you're alone Christmas is the pits";[syn: hell, hell on earth, hellhole, snake pit, the pits, inferno]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hellhole
    n 1: any place of pain and turmoil; "the hell of battle"; "the
         inferno of the engine room"; "when you're alone Christmas
         is the pits"; [syn: hell, hell on earth, hellhole,
         snake pit, the pits, inferno]