A short, in an electrical circuit, refers to an alternate circuit path around a component. Resistance=0.
A short in parallel will make voltage equal zero for all branches, and will cause total current to go up exponentially. This is a Bad Thing.
A short in series will knock out one component, and throw off pretty much the rest of your voltages due to ohm's law and Kirchoff's laws.
In short you don't want shorts. Unless it's hot outside. Then they're preferable.
Oh yes... short is also a fantastic source of puns.