Following a survey of literature on the cognitive tasks and strategies involved in metaphor comprehension, a 24-year-old Greek speaker learning Brazilian Portuguese as a second language was given 10 figurative expressions in the target language and asked to use them in sentences. Results show that (1) metaphors can be understood by both acquisition and learning; (2) acoustic clues (intonation, stress) and linguistic context aid in metaphor comprehension; (3) linguistic and extralinguistic contexts are crucial for successful metaphor comprehension; (4) familiarity with metaphors in one's native language is indispensable as second-language speakers apply decontextualization strategies from their first language; and (5) translation plays an important role as second-language speakers make continuous comparisons with meanings and uses in their native language. (Z. Dubiel in LLBA 1999, vol. 33, n. 1)