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Are there any words that are slang for another word which is itself a slang term for something else, but the secondary slang term is not slang for the original word?

That is, given words Y and Z, where Y is a slang term for Z, does there exist a word X such that it is slang for Y, but not for Z?

Uticensis
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Synetech
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    May I suggest a clarification of the title? e.g., Do any non-transitive (in a mathematical sense) slang terms exist? – Uticensis Feb 28 '11 at 01:56
  • As to the original question, I haven't thought of one yet, but I suspect that a good answer will be found somewhere in the slang for drugs and/or drug paraphernalia. – Uticensis Feb 28 '11 at 02:01
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    This question makes my head hurt. – Robusto Feb 28 '11 at 02:28

3 Answers3

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Wiener and frank are slang terms for a hot dog. A "hot dog" is a slang term for a show-off. Neither wiener nor frank is a slang term for a show-off.

Kosmonaut
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  • wrt Wiener, Frank, and hot dog, how do you know which are slang terms and which is the correct word? – Ben Voigt Feb 28 '11 at 14:19
  • @Ben Voigt: Well, it doesn't really matter. But just for the sake of argument, say "hot dog" is slang for wiener; wiener is slang for a whiny, wimpy person, and "hot dog" is not. – Kosmonaut Feb 28 '11 at 14:49
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"Lift" is slang for "ride" ("Give me a lift to the airport.") and "ride" is slang for "automobile" ("That's one sweet ride you're driving.") but "lift" certainly does not mean "automobile".

Michael Lorton
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It's arguable that what you ask for is impossible, slang or not.
Any example would have to involve a word with multiple meanings.
Strictly interpreted "is synonymous with" is an equivalence relation, therefore by definition transitive.
So if you say:

A wanker is a tosser.
A tosser is a thrower.
But a wanker isn't a thrower.

You are relying on the polysemy of "tosser".
It has two separate meanings: masturbator and thrower.
See also the fallacy of equivocation.

donothingsuccessfully
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  • Ooops, I just wanted to answer with the link to the same equivocation fallacious reasoning without reading answers but it happened to be the last words before "Your Answer" text area – Gennady Vanin Геннадий Ванин Mar 06 '11 at 04:47
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    I disagree. Mostly because 'is synonomous with' is not an equivalence relation, synonyms are like friends, a synonym of a synonym is not necessarily a synonym of the first; just follow a path through Roget's: truth->precision->rigor - truth and rigor are not in the same synonym set. Also, many words exhibit polysemy (like the 'hot dog' example) and that can allow great intransitivity. – Mitch Apr 14 '11 at 01:09