balaclava
[noun]

[de bi-vak-muts, de bi-vak-mut-sen]

"Bivakmuts" is composed of "bivak" and "muts". The latter translates to hat, and a "bivak" is a bivouac: a (night) camp for soldiers in the open air.

In the Netherlands, "bivakmutsen" are not only worn by soldiers, but also by (small) children when it’s very cold outside, and robbers of shops, banks and gas stations, to conceal their identity 😉

Examples:
– "Sommige protestanten droegen bivakmutsen. De politie heeft hard tegen ze opgetreden." 
("Some of the protesters wore balaclavas. The police have acted with force against them.")

– "Overvallers dragen bivakmutsen, zodat ze niet kunnen worden opgespoord." 
("Robbers wear balaclavas, so that they cannot be traced.")

– "Vroeger, als het winter was, droeg ik altijd een bivakmuts als ik buiten speelde." 
("Back then, during winter, I always wore a balaclava when I played outside.")

Expressions:
– "Goed gemutst": in a good mood (lit.: well hooded).
– "Slecht gemutst": in a bad mood (lit.: badly hooded).

Example:
– "Frank is ‘s morgens altijd chagrijnig en slecht gemutst."
("In the moring, Frank is always cranky and in a bad mood.")

Related words:
– Muts: hat [noun] [de muts, de mutsen].
– Handschoen: glove [noun] [de handschoen, de handschoenen].

Example:
– "Lieverd, doe je je handschoenen aan als je naar buiten gaat?" – "Mam, je bent veel te bezorgd, ik ben geen kind meer!"
("Sweetie, will you put on your gloves when you go outside?" – "Mum, you worry too much, I’m not a child any more!")

– Sjaal: scarf [noun] [de sjaal, de sjaals].

likely candidate
[noun]
[de kans-heb-ber, de kans-heb-bers]

Literally a "kanshebber" is a "chance haver": someone who has a chance at winning or gaining something. This may vary from money, a prize, a position or job, etc.

In a sentence you use the idiom "kanshebber zijn voor/op": to be a likely candidate for. (Note that the indefinite article "een" can be left out in Dutch.)

If you’re in the running for something, you can use the idiom "kans maken op" (lit.: to make chance at).

Examples:
– "De premier van Nederland was tot het laatste moment kanshebber voor de positie van Europees president." 
("The Dutch prime minister was a likely candidate for the position of European president until the last moment.")

– "De kanshebbers op deze prachtige prijs zijn: Monica, Frank en Daniel!" 
("In the running for this beautiful prize are: Monica, Frank en Daniel!" Lit.: "The likely candidates for this beautiful prize…")

– "De jury heeft de kandidaten beoordeeld, en er zijn nog twee kanshebbers over." 
("The jury has assessed the candidates, and there are still two people in the running.")

Expressions:
– "Nieuwe ronde nieuwe kansen": (lit.: new round new chances) better luck next time.

Related words:
– Kans: chance, opportunity [noun] [de kans, de kansen].
– Kansloos: hopeless, desperate, without chance [adjective].

Example:
– "Frank komt altijd te laat op afspraken, hij is echt kansloos." 
("Frank’s always late for appointments, he’s really hopeless.") 

– Gelegenheid: opportunity [noun] [de gelegenheid, de gelegenheden].

Example:
– "Ik heb nog geen gelegenheid gehad om de fout op te sporen." 
("I haven’t had the opportunity yet to track down the bug.")