a flyblown bar on the edge of town.
a seedy district.
a sordid political campaign.
a squalid overcrowded apartment in the poorest part of town.
dirty police officers.
shoddy business practices.
sleazy characters hanging around casinos.
sleazy storefronts with...dirt on the walls.
sordid avarice.
sordid material interests.
sordid shantytowns.
squalid living conditions.
the seamy side of life.
the sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils.
the squalid atmosphere of intrigue and betrayal.