In this paper the authors propose a five-case taxonomy of insults depending on (a) the type of intentionality underlying the insult (offense-, interaction -or praise-centered intentionality); and (b) whether the insulter resorts to highly standardized or conventionalized insults or uses a more innovative expression to carry out the insulting strategy. The resulting taxonomical cases involve different interpretive procedures which the translator of insults should bear in mind if he or she wants to produce a translation in the target language which resembles the source-language insult in appropriate terms. Throughout the article, Sperber and Wilson's (1986/95) "relevance theory" will be used as theoretical framework, together with its ad hoc terminology.