A young nobleman was asked what qualities he expected in a wife. He replied that his ideal wife would behave like an angel in church, like a peasant in the kitchen and like a chorus girl in the bedroom. He might have said that she would have eyes like stars, lips like cherries and a complexion like peaches and cream. These are, after all, the clich s.
People repeat the good ones because they are colourful.
Expressions like -to 'spend money like water', to 'laugh like a drain' and to 'fell like death warmed up' become clich s because they are evocative. However, the nobleman's original use of language didn't bring him what he wanted. According to the story, the woman he eventually married behaved like a peasant in church, like a chorus girl in the kitchen and like an angel in the bedroom. Podr a haber dicho que ella tendr a unos ojos como estrellas, unos labios como cerezas y un cutis como melocotones y nata. La gente repite los buenos porque son pintorescos.