Why do some words and phrases mean the exact opposite of what they should?”
I love the English language because it is so alive and so fluid. You correctly point out that words and phrases can change their meanings based on context, or they can evolve to mean entirely different things than one would expect over time. I think the primary reason for this is the constant influx of foreign languages and constructions, so that phrases end up getting grammatically changed as foreign rules are incorrectly applied. I think it is also in part due to the great technological improvements in communications over the past century or so. The language has gotten processed by far more people and has ended up getting mangled a bit as a result. So the paradoxical nature of certain words and phrases are just evidence of the richness and complexity of this language. It’s a good thing, despite being extremely confusing at times.
