den of iniquity

Unclear, but probably inspired by the “den of thieves” in the KJV Bible,^[1] which is a calque of Latin spēlunca latrōnum.

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den of iniquity (plural dens of iniquity)

1. A place of immoral behavior, often of a sexual type.
   • 1840, George Dabney, The History of an Adventurer:

     The young men made their preparations with alacrity, and, headed by this western patriarch, we proceeded at a rapid gait to surprize the tenants of this den of iniquity.

   • 1944, Robert Howard, Texas John Alden:

     "Shet up!" I snarled. "I'm jest payin' yuh back for all the pain and humiliation I suffered in this den of iniquity—"

   • 1993 October 7, Roger Cohen, quoting Niki de Saint Phalle, “At Home With: Niki de Saint Phalle; An Artist, Her Monsters, Her Two Worlds”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     Ms. Saint Phalle bought the converted inn with her husband, the Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, in 1963; he died in 1991. Called Auberge au Cheval Blanc, it was once a brothel. "The villagers wanted an end to the den of iniquity, but then they did not like our sculptures, and for a while they would throw things at them," she says with a distinctive laugh, as wide open and explosive as her eyes.

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