New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2005. This book proposes a new theory of metaphor variation. Firstly, the major dimensions of metaphor variation are identified; that is, those social and cultural boundaries that signal discontinuities in human experience. Secondly, the book describes which components, or aspects, of conceptual metaphor are involved in metaphor variation, and how they are involved. Thirdly, it isolates the main causes of metaphor variation. Lastly, it deals with the issue of the degree of cultural coherence in the interplay among conceptual metaphors, embodiment, and causes of metaphor variation.