How's that again?

Do you ever wonder how in the world we all comprehended and eventually learned to speak the English language from babyhood? Because English is the most difficult language to learn out of all of them out there. It's true. It is a wonder that those little babies absorb our words and phrases like sponges and learn to articulate themselves eventually.

So here's the thing. We have some really way off phrases that beg the question as to how they even originated and stuck. Some examples:

Why do we say 'wake up' and 'shut up'? What's 'up' with that? How come then, we don't say 'sleep down' and why doesn't shut down mean to go to sleep? So why don't we go awake like we go to sleep? Are you following me?

And how come we can either close or shut things like doors or windows, but we can't close the light or television like we can shut the light or television? We can open a door or window or can, but we can't open a light. We can hang up the phone, but we can't hang down the phone.

Either we eat up or chow down. You can't eat down or chow up.

So, you see how confusing it is? When we hear foreign people trying to speak our language and they sometimes get the words wrong, they probably have it right on.

Do you know some others? Feel free to add them.