cess ‧ pit /ˈsesˌpɪt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: cesperal 'cesspool' (1500-1600) , probably from suspiral 'air hole' (14-16 centuries) , from Old French souspirail , from souspirer 'to sigh' ; influenced by pool ]
1 . ( also cess‧pool /ˈsesˌpuːl/) a large hole or container under the ground in which waste from a building, especially from the toilets, is collected
2 . a place or situation in which people behave in a bad or immoral way:
For weeks the affair threatened to be a cesspit of scandal.