One of the hallmarks of human intelligence is the ability to go beyond literal meanings of utterances to infer speakers' intended meanings, a feat that remains elusive to the most advanced artificial systems. Figurative language such as metaphor, in particular, provides a striking case where complex meanings arise that cannot be derived from the literal semantics alone. For example, "My lawyer is a shark" is a literally false sentence, yet communicates relevant features of the lawyer in question (e.g. "ruthless," but not "swims").