Yup, somewhere between energy handling and power handling, or both with respect to pulse width (for some typical pulse shape).
There should be a short-duration overload spec, X times rated load for Y seconds or something like that. That gives you a rough idea of what kind of abuse it can handle.
Most resistors have a t^(-1/3) to t^(-1/2) relationship between energy handling and time (or the inverse for power). Of course, if you need to be sure, don't take my word on this, keep flipping through datasheets until you find one with the curve!
This reflects the amount of time required for that heat to diffuse into the bulk of the part. Thick film is better than thin film; solid wire (wirewound) is even better; and bulk cermet / composite is better still.
A very small resistor might have ~constant energy above a certain time scale (i.e., a pulse heats it up entirely, and it then cools down only very slowly), but energy handling almost always drops at short scales due to construction, or localized heating, or even skin effect.
Tim