Kittay (1987) claims that in some cases we need to consider the context in order to distinguish between the literal and metaphorical meaning of an utterance (e.g. my hands were tied). This paper argues in favor of combining the main tenets of Cognitive Linguistics with inferential pragmatics for a better understanding of metaphor. The author analyses the contribution of the most important theories of inferential pragmatics to the interpretation of metaphor. In contrast with Grice (1975) who regards metaphors as violations of the Maxim of Quality (“Do not say what you believe to be false”), Sperber and Wilson (1986) view metaphors as a means of using language freely. In Relevance Theory metaphor is an economic form of communication which provides more information than mere paraphrasis. Also, Fauconnier and Turner’s (2002) mental spaces seem to be more context-dependent and dynamic than Langacker’s (1987) cognitive domains.