The impact of figurative language on discourse about literacy is explored. A discussion of the functions of metaphor focuses on representations of literacy in terms of skill, medicine, business, military conflict, and conceptual oppositions. The Australian report 'Words at Work: Literacy Needs in the Workplace' (House of Representatives, 1991) is examined for its structuring of knowledge about literacy. Its uses of the "skills" metaphor (functional literacy), of metonymy with respect to illiterate adults (characterized by a single attribute), and of binary logic (literate vs. illiterate) have serious implications for fixing responsibility and for the kinds of solutions proposed. Research is needed that will use better metaphors to account for the realities and dynamics of workplace literacy. (E. Taylor in LLBA 2000, Vol. 34, n. 5)