How does the cognitive linguist get from linguistic metaphor to conceptual metaphor? Is there a procedure for the determination of conceptual metaphor when metaphorical language has been encountered? These are the questions that are addressed in this chapter, which aims to build a bridge between linguistic and conceptual metaphor by proposing a series of five analytical steps: 1. metaphor focus identification, 2. metaphorical idea identification, 3. nonliteral comparison identification, 4. nonliteral analogy identification, 5. nonliteral mapping identification. (...) These steps are called identification, because they give an answer to the question "What is ...?" The first three questions are easiest to answer: what is the metaphor focus, what is the metaphorical proposition, and what is the metaphorical comparison? Question 4 is more difficult to handle, because it involves filling in empty slots in an analogy on the basis of focus interpretation and vehicle identification in mutual interaction. However, context and default language use, respectively, act as guides to provide an answer to question 4. The answer to this question has to be seen as a searchlight for construction a nonliteral mapping, which then has to be checked against the discourse regarding its appropriateness. (Gerard Steen)