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a couple always means two.
every time anyone says “a couple”, i ask them if they mean two. it’s not pleasant exchange for either of us, but it must be done
You're right but also it's weird that we have a common phrase that means "exactly two" when we could just say "two". I think about that sometimes.
Why is it weird?
You could just say 'two weeks', but you could also say 'a fortnight'.
Come to think of it, you could even say 'a couple of weeks'
It gets weirder because you can also say "a pair". And it gets even weirder because "a pair" means "2 that are meant to be together" whereas "a couple" means two that were put together, which is why it sounds weird to say you got a "couple of socks" (most people would understand this as 4 socks) instead of a "pair of socks".
I'd understand it as two mismatched socks.