Proverb meaning has been an issue in paremiological research for a long time. In this paper the cognitive linguistic theory of conceptual blending, or blending theory, is explored as a starting point in the discussion of figurative proverbs. This theory is combined here with the notion of ‘base meaning’. Furthermore, the concept of ‘extended base meaning’ is introduced as a ‘thick’ meaning description, especially useful when proverbs are discussed in relation to collective knowledge structures.