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Metaphors of the form X is a Y may be conceived as statements of property attribution, in which properties of the vehicle Y are attributed to the topic X. The properties attributed from the vehicle to the topic are those that are epitomized by the vehicle, and may characterize a dimension of within-category variation in the topic. We report two experiments that tested the implications of this ‘‘property attribution’ ’ view of metaphor comprehension. One implication of this view is that metaphors are not implicitly transformed into comparisons (X is like a Y), but rather are understood as what they appear to be: class-inclusion assertions. If metaphors are understood as class-inclusion assertions, they should either change meaning or become nonsensi-cal when reversed. Experiment 1 provides evidence for this claim. A second implication of the property attribution view is that topics and vehicles provide different kinds of information to guide and constrain the comprehension process. Experiment 2 provides evidence for this claim. These findings cannot be accounted for by models which assume that metaphors are understood as implicit comparisons. q 1997 Academic Press The sentence forms X is a Y and X is like lemon. Given the different conceptual rela-tionships implied by each sentence form, ita Y are typically used to communicate ver