Well, shortbread (butter, flour, sugar) and shortcrust (butter, flour, tiny bit of water and maybe sugar, too) are closely related... a lot of my biscuits don't have eggs - too many friends with allergies. Most of them don't have a lot of liquid - heh, actually, that's probably the point at which they become cookies in my book. Cookies are a bit chewier and less crisp than biscuits...

Shortening isn't really an ingredient I use - or know where to find, even. I don't think it's a big thing in Australian cooking, but we also aren't nearly so pie-oriented as the USA seems to be.

So yes, both are different, I suspect. But my pastry sounds closer to yours.

And our cats are definitely quite closely related. Like a baby crying, indeed.