This special issue is an attempt to record the state of the art of psycholinguistics research into figurative language. It is by no means a comprehensive report, as can also be deduced from Ray Gibbs' (2001/this issue) overview, which, among other things, fills in many of the gaps. The field, however, has reached a stage at which such recording is timely: There are quite a number of models addressing distinct issues and aiming to solve different problems-the mark of a maturing field. Indeed, not one theory is tailored to solve all the problems. Rather, each model, while aiming at generality, also recognizes its limitation. (Rachel Giora)