This study examined the semantic interaction of the constituent words of a metaphor on comprehension. In Experiment 1, 40 undergraduates rated 48 nouns using 37 semantic differential scales, and rated the same nouns in 24 similes (TOPIC is like a VEHICLE). In comprehending the metaphor, greater semantic change occurred in the topic than in the vehicle, and the change was toward an increased similarity between them. The Abstract Performance Grammar (APGo) (Osgood, 1980) explained that the rated value of constituent words predicted that of the metaphor topic. In Experiment 2, 46 undergraduates rated three isolated topics and the same topics used in 15 similes paired with one of five different vehicles. The rated meanings of the same topic changed in different directions according to the vehicle's meaning. In Experiment 3, 237 undergraduates rated isolated topics and vehicles and the same topics used in similes. The rating distribution of the topic was constrained to that of the vehicle in the simile, with the result that skewness and kurtosis increased, thus, the meaning of the topic changed.
