well "short" is sorta the wrong word to use. Short would imply something going wrong and blowing a fuse. Think of more like 12 volts from another circuit powering up your light circuit because the wires are missing insulation and they touch somewhere along the line. Another scenario is "Short" the door pin switches to ground and the lights will come one.
And it can be a good ole 12 volt short to ground and not blowing the fuse because it does not pull enough current. But it could pull enough current through small wires to melt them but still not blow the fuse.
I have encountered all of the above in cars and aircraft.
But in aircraft you can have 400volts AC not short but arc to ground around jet fuel and go boom
All without blowing a circuit breaker.
hope this helps.