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Black Hole of Calcutta, the
     
Black Hole of Calcutta, the
a small room used as a prison in Calcutta, India. In 1756, 146 British prisoners were put into it, and most of them died in one night. People sometimes say that a small very crowded room or dark place is "like the Black Hole of Calcutta".
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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