This paper examines some of the problems associated with interpreting metonymy, a figure of speech in which an attribute or commonly associated feature is used to name or designate something. After defining metonymy and outlining the principles of metonymy, the paper explains the differences between metonymy, synecdoche, and metaphor. It is suggested that an account of conventionalized and creative metonyms, and the underlying principles common to them, must include both descriptive and analytical considerations. A relevance-theoretic framework is investigated with a view to finding further explanatory insights. Exemplification of the role and functions of metonymy in narrative fiction is presented in texts by Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf. The outcome of the study shows that rhetorical, linguistic, and relevance-theoretic frameworks are all needed if metonymy, and the process of interpreting its meaning, is to be fully accounted for. (Contains 13 references.) (MDH)