English is a crazy language
In the English language there is no butter in buttermilk, no ham in hamburger, no cottages in cottage cheese. Blackboards can be green, hot dogs can be cold, darkrooms can be lit, and silverware can be plastic! A titmouse is not a mouse, wormwood contains neither worms nor wood, and bathrooms often don't have any baths in them. In fact, a bathroom isn't always a room since a dog can go to the bathroom under a tree. A woman can man a station, but a man can't woman one. A man can father a movement, but a woman can't mother one. A king rules a kingdom, but a queen can't rule a queendom.

A writer is someone who writes, and a stinger is something that stings. But fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce, hammers don't ham and humdingers don't humding. If you rang a bell yesterday, why can't we say you also flang a ball? If you wrote a letter, why can't we say that you also bote your tongue? "I could care less" really means "I couldn't care less", "I literally fell over with surprise" means "I figuratively fell over with surprise". A near miss is really a near hit, to put on one's shoes and socks really means to put on one's socks and shoes. To be head over heels in love means to be heels over head in love, to go back and forth means to go forth and back, and to do something ass backwards means to do something ass frontwards. In what other language can a boxing ring be square, and a young Communist be called a green Red?

Where else is a man with hairs on his head probably balder than a man with hair on his head? The weather can be hotter than hell one day and colder than hell the next! If a cavalier acts in a cavalier manner, he isn't being a good cavalier. If you decide to be evil forever, you have chosen to be bad for good. If you are wearing your left shoe only, then your right shoe is left. Right? Loosen and unloosen and ravel and unravel mean the same thing. "I want a piece of cloth that will wear" means the same as "I want a piece of cloth that won't wear". When the stars are out, they are visible, but when lights are out they are invisible. When we wind up a watch we start it up, but when we wind up a conference we stop it. When we trim a tree we can be either embellishing it or pruning it!

You can make amends, but never just one amend. There are annals of history but never a single annal. You can never contract a measle or a heebie jeebie. Why in English aren't there any horseful carriages, or strapful gowns, healthless junk foods or beautiless paintings? Why don't we ever meet people who are spring chickens instead of meeting people who are no spring chickens? And why don't we run into people who are gainly or combobulated or chalant? Finally, your house can burn up and burn down at the same time, you fill in a form by filling it out, you add up a column of figures by adding them down, and you first chop down a tree and then chop it up.