Abstract One of the most intriguing open issues in metonymy research is the nature of metonymies that transcend or do not appear in spoken/written language. More specifically, we should clarify the issue of whether there exist genuine multimodal (or polysemiotic) metonymies, parallel to multimodal metaphors. Taking into consideration their essence and the way that metonymies are defined, it is clear that, strictly speaking there could be no multimodal metonymies of the simplest kind. However, multimodality is possible in the case of complex metonymies, and metonymies interacting with metaphors. The results of all these processes that unsurprisingly leave the impression of novelty and creativity are regularly put to very effective uses, even leading to hyperbolic and/or ironic effects.