Everybody's first lesson in discussing electrical should be that shorts are wires connected together that should not be connected together. Wires that should be connected together, that aren't, are called an open, short for open circuit

When testing for shorts and opens, FIRST check for voltage across the wires. If you get a zero ohm wire to wire situation, that's a short. An almost short with some resistance is very possible, too. Also, one conductor shorted to ground can be a problem even if the two main wires have the right resistance to one another. There must also be the right resistance from each wire to ground.