This paper argues that, contrary to what is assumed in Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the conceptual power of metaphor may not lie in its widespread unconscious use but in its more limited and targeted deliberate use, which may or may not give rise to conscious metaphorical cognition. Deliberate and conscious metaphorical thought links up with deliberate and conscious thought as described by Baumeister and Masicampo (2010). The paper suggests that the power of metaphors comes from their deliberate rather than non-deliberate use, and, second, that the online effect of metaphor is more restricted than has been assumed over the past thirty years.