This paper proposes an approach to the translation of humorous texts based on Cognitive Linguistics. The author argues that a model focused on the frames or knowledge structures activated in the text and on the metonymical mappings that guide humorous inferences may help gain useful insights into the cognitive mechanisms used during humor production and understanding. This model is applied to the analysis of a number of examples from three different novels and their translations into Spanish: Small World by David Lodge, Money by Martin Amis, and The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi. The approach suggested here centers on the metonymical patterns which are most relevant to explain the humorous examples found in the corpus. The author focuses specifically on the analysis of four of the most productive types of metonymical mappings and classifies these into two domains: a) contiguity in the spatial and material domain and b) contiguity in the domain of actions, events and processes. The author argues that such a model can guide translators, helping them to develop a systematic method to solve the problems implied in the translation of humor.