extinguisher [noun] [de doof-pot, de doof-pot-ten]

The only place where I’ve ever spotted a "doofpot" was at my grandparents’ place. My grandfather used to put the ashes of his pipe’s tobacco in it and I remember we were warned not to put any paper in it. In its literal meaning of "extinguisher", most "doofpotten" will be found at antique stores. In its figurative sense, "doofpot" is still used very often in newspapers when describing hush-hush politics or some scandal that was covered up.

The word "doof" is generally used in its translation of "deaf", however in "doofpot" it is derived from the verb "doven" which means "to extinguish". "Pot" means "jar" or "pot".

Examples:
– "Mijn grootouders hadden een koperen doofpot." 
("My grandparents had a copper extinguisher.")

Expressions:
– "Iets in de doofpot stoppen": to cover something up, to sweep something under the carpet.

Example:
– "De buitenechtelijke affaires van prins Bernard werden in de doofpot gestopt."
("The extramarital affairs of prince Bernard were covered up.")

– "De redenen voor het gedwongen aftreden van de Minister President werden in de doofpot gestopt."
("The reasons for the impeachment of the Prime Minister were hushed.")

Related words:
– Doof: deaf [adjective/adverb].
– Doven: to extinguish [verb] [doofde, gedoofd].

Example:
– "De priester doofde de kaarsen in de kerk."
("The priest put out the candles in the church.")

– Pot: jar, pot [noun] [de pot, de potten].

hopeless, desperate, without chance [adjective/adverb] [kans-loos]

"Kansloos" consists of "kans" and "-loos". "Kans" means "chance", "opportunity" or "possibility". The ending "-loos" means "without" and refers to the word it follows. Therefore, "kansloos" literally means "without chance" and it is used in that way when describing hopeless plans, hopeless behaviour or any hopeless situation. Informally, "kansloos" is also used when referring to people (see Examples).

The opposite of the "-loos" is "-rijk". "Rijk" literally means "rich". A word ending with "-rijk" means "with many" or "full of", again referring to the word it follows. Like "rijk", the separate "loos" does have a meaning too,  which is somewhat formal: "empty", or the somewhat old-fashioned meaning "missing" (see Extra), and in the expression: "wat is (hier) loos?": "what’s going on (here)?"

Examples:
– "De Atlantische oceaan oversteken in een kano is een kansloze onderneming."
("Crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a canoe is a hopeless plan." Please note that "een kansloze onderneming" can be replaced here by "onbegonnen werk".)

– "Roger Federer was kansloos tegen Jokovic." 
("Roger Federer didn’t stand a chance against Jokovic.")

– "De deelgemeente Rotterdam-Zuid is dit project gestart om kansloze jongeren te helpen."
("The community Rotterdam-Zuid has started this project to support young people with few prospects." Note that in this sentence, "kansloos" can also be replaced by "kansarm" ("underprivileged"), literally "poor in chance".)

– "Hij heeft al zes talen geprobeerd te leren maar stopt steeds na drie maanden, het is echt kansloos." 
("He has already tried to learn six languages but he always quits after three months, it’s really hopeless.")

– "Hij komt altijd te laat voor examens, hij is echt kansloos." 
("He’s always late for exams, he’s really hopeless.")

Expressions:
– "Wat is hier loos?": what’s going on here?
– "Een loze bewering/belofte": An empty statement/promise.

Related words:
– Kans: chance, opportunity, possibility [noun] [de kans, de kansen].
– Kansrijk: full of chance, opportunity, possibility [adverb/adjective].
– Rijk: rich [adverb/adjective].
– Words ending on "-loos": without… [adverb/adjective].
– Arm: poor [adverb].
– Kansarm: underprivileged, having few prospects [adverb/adjective].

Extra:
"Daar was laatst een meisje loos" is the title of an old Dutch sailor song. It literally translates to "Recently a girl has been missing".

complete(ly), full(y), entire(ly) [adverb/adjective] [vol-le-dig]

"Volledig" consists of two words: "vol" (meaning "full") and "ledig" (the old-fashioned word for "leeg" which means "empty"). So it seems to be a contradictio in terminis: what does it mean, full or empty? "Volledig" means full. A more often used synonym of "volledig" is "helemaal".

Related noun is "volledigheid": completeness, entirety.

Examples:
– "Dacht je dat ik jouw werk zou afmaken? Sorry, dat heb je volledig verkeerd begrepen!"
("Did you think that I would finish your work? I’m sorry, you completely misunderstood.")

– "Hij is volledig blut na zijn reis naar de casino’s in Macau." 
("He is completely broke after his trip to the casinos in Macau.")

– "Heb je de volledige route naar van Amsterdam naar Santiago de Compostela gelopen?"
("Did you walk the entire way from Amsterdam to Santiago de Compostela?")

– "Voor de volledigheid zal ik de doelstellingen van het project nogmaals toelichten." 
("For the sake of completeness I will explain the objectives of the project once more." Please note that "volledigheid" is often used in a formal setting.)

– "Haar vakantie was volledig verziekt door de aanslag in Mumbai."
("Her vacation was totally ruined because of the attack in Mumbai.")

– "Zoek je een gedeeltelijk of volledig gemeubileerd appartement?"
("Are you looking for a partly or fully furnished apartment?")

– "Deze auto is volledig uitgerust om door de bergen te rijden."
("This car is fully equipped to drive through the mountains.")

– "Maak je geen zorgen, je kunt hem volledig vertrouwen."
("Don’t worry, you can trust him completely.")

Related words:
– Volledigheid: completeness [noun] [de volledigheid, de volledigheden].
– Vol: full [adverb/adjective].
– Totaal: total [adverb/adjective].
– Heleboel: a (whole) lot, (quite) a lot, lots [noun] [de heleboel, <no plural>].
– Leeg: empty [adverb/adjective].