In addition to compelling the retrieval of facts, language supports abstraction and flights of fancy, not infrequently expressed via figurative language. Studies of nonliteral language processing have capitalized on the temporal precision of ERPs to test hypotheses about when and how (from what information) nonliteral meaning is constructed, and whether the processing of literal and nonliteral language differ in quantitative and/or qualitative ways. Irony and sarcasm have received some inquiry, but the primary focus has been on joke and metaphor comprehension (reviewed by Coulson in press). Overall, the processes indexed by the N400 seem to unfold in a similar manner with the same timing for figurative as for literal language, contra the view that meaning processing for nonliteral language is inherently slower. For instance, whereas N400s are larger for metaphors (He knows that power is a strong intoxicant) than for non-metaphorical controls (He knows that whisky is a strong intoxicant), they are of intermediate amplitude for literal sentences that require explicit mappings between objects and the domains in which they commonly occur (He used cough syrup as an intoxicant). N400
