That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly (noun)
Examples of word abridgment
What is it with the Americans and word abridgment?
His text-book in the instruction of the monks, was the theological treatise of St. Anthony of Padua, translated into Arabic; of which he made an abridgment, that is still used among the Maronites.
This is an abridgment of the history of Israel's provocations in the wilderness, and of the wrath of God against them for those provocations: and this abridgment is abridged by the apostle, with application to us Christians (1 Cor.x. 5, &c.); for these things were written for our admonition, that we sin not like them, lest we suffer like them.
9 A.D. We know the work from the epitomes of the books and from Justin's abridgment, which is similar to that of Florus on Livy.
Instead of giving a faithful translation, Fabre made a kind of abridgment of it.
This we have already observed concerning pride and humility, and here repeat it concerning love and hatred; and indeed there is so great a resemblance betwixt these two sets of passions, that we shall be obliged to begin with a kind of abridgment of our reasonings concerning the former, in order to explain the latter.
See Twin Peaks, 996 F. 2d at 1372-73, 1375-76 (finding that the book at issue was an "abridgment" because it recounted "precisely the plot details" of television episodes "in the same sequence" as they appeared in the original series);
As if putting a soda can in one garbage can or another is somehow an abridgment of their freedom.