Random thoughts and questions

Why are pants a "pair"? Isnt there only 1?
When you say, " I went to the store to buy a pair of pants"
Isnt it a little weird that 1) its a pairs, and, 2) pants is plural?

We don't say "I want a bought a pair of shirts"... this would imply we bought more than one... so why is this the way we talk about pants??

Now, a PAIR of shoes makes sense because there are 2, its a set. Pants are a single item of clothing.
I find it confusing.

Another thing:
The word: Couple
"I have a couple of friends"
Shouldn't this mean 2? We don't typically use this word that way though.

A friend of mine who is a teacher was telling me a little while ago about something his students mentioned.
The word: pint
They pronounced it to sound like mint.... then you start thinking.

lint
Clint
mint
hint
stint
tint

They ALL sound the same... so why doesn't pint get pronounced the same??

Its questions like these above and those of similar origin, (why is read and read two different words when they are spelled the same?) that make me understand why English is a difficult language for people to learn!
Much of it DOESNT MAKE SENSE!

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