The paper is looking at the definition of metaphor in terms of deviance. It tries to delimit the specificity of the metaphoric incongruity. Based on the works of E.F. Kittay (1987) and M. Turner (1988) on the one hand and on F. Rastier's (1987) on the other, it tries to give an answer to one of the main questions of the metaphoric process: "Is it always the case that there is an incongruity in a metaphorical utterance, and, if so, is there an incongruity distinctive to metaphor?" (E.F. Kittay, 1987, 68) (Sabine De Knop)