ˈshake-down
[f. vbl. phrase to shake down: see shake v. 12.]
1. A bed made upon straw loosely disposed upon the floor or ground; hence, any makeshift bed, esp. one made up on the floor.
| c 1730 Burt Lett. N. Scot. (1754) I. 107 The same Blanket..is made a Part of their Bedding at Night, which is generally spread upon the Floor; this I think they call a Shake⁓down. a 1820 A. Young Autobiog. iv. (1898) 72 A ‘shake⁓down’ when I was in Ireland [1776–8] meant some clean straw spread upon the floor, with blankets and sheets. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. vii, You can give him a shake-down here to-night, can't you? 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect I. 77 When the party broke up there was no leaving at so late an hour, and shake-downs were improvised for at least forty..guests. |
| attrib. 1891 Catholic News 29 Aug. 8/4 Shake-down straw beds with a rug or two for covering. |
2. a. An act of shaking down: see
shake v. 12.
| 1878 Hardy Ret. Native vi. iv, Now gie the bed a shake down. We've put in seventy pound of best feathers. |
b. A forced contribution; an instance of extortion.
Cf. shake v. 16 c.
orig. and chiefly
U.S.| 1902 in Dict. Americanisms (1951) s.v. shake, To the historic phrase ‘blackmail’..have been added, as words of similar evil omen, the new and expressive terms shake-down and rake-off. 1903 A. H. Hodder Fight for City 219 He [sc. a New York policeman] was fined 30 days' pay because he would not stand for a ‘shake⁓down’, which means that he had refused to give from time to time upon demand 5 or 10 dollars..to his superiors to be used for purposes unknown. 1916 J. London Let. 12 Oct. (1966) 473 A usurer..slunk out because..he saw the shake-down of me would not go through. 1941 Sun (Baltimore) 31 Mar. 1/7 Jack Pollack..was named..as the man behind a demand for a $2,500 ‘shakedown’ to kill a liquor license bill in the Legislature. 1978 S. Brill Teamsters ix. 329 While the shakedown was proved, it was never shown that the money went to Presser personally. |
c. A search of a person or a place.
Cf. shake v. 16 d.
orig. and chiefly
U.S.| 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 75 Shake down, noun. General currency. A personal search; a deprivation of one's personal belongings... Example: ‘If this dick nails you you'll have to stand a shake down.’ 1936 Sun (Baltimore) 31 Jan. 3/5 A sudden ‘shakedown’ of the Stateville Penitentiary resulted in the seizure of several knives. 1958 Landfall (N.Z.) XII. ii. 123 But about nine o'clock, without any warning, there was a shake-down [of prisoners]. 1977 D. Bagley Enemy viii. 53, I really wanted..to give Ashton's study a good shake-down. But..it's bad form..to be found searching through your host's private papers. |
3. attrib. (sense 2 a)
shakedown test; (sense 2 b), as
shake-down dodge,
shake-down scheme; (sense 2 c), as
shake-down party;
shake-down cruise Naut. (
orig. U.S.), a cruise designed to test a newly-launched ship and its equipment and to train its crew; also
fig.; similarly
shake-down flight Aeronaut.| 1927 G. Bradford Gloss. Sea Terms 156/1 Shakedown cruise, one for the purpose of adjusting machinery and instruments, and familiarizing a crew with a new vessel. 1933 Sun (Baltimore) 21 Jan. 16/7 The newest addition to the navy..is on its ‘shake-down’ cruise. 1968 Wall St. Jrnl. (Eastern ed.) 12 Sept. 1/1 The first week on the road..has been a shakedown cruise for the Senator and his staff—enabling the candidate to test stump themes,..giving aides experience at writing speeches and organizing motorcades, [etc.]. 1978 P. O'Donnell Dragon's Claw ii. 27 The boat's 'ad a shakedown cruise and..it 'andles beautifully. |
| 1934 D. Runyon in Collier's 24 Nov. 52/2 He is only going back to his old shake-down dodge, so all you have to do is to buy him off. |
| 1939 Sun (Baltimore) 25 Mar. 20/3 The 10,000-mile shakedown flight will require about two weeks. |
| 1952 Here & Now (N.Z.) II. iv. 32 The shake-down parties have been through the cells pretty often. |
| 1976 Honolulu Star-Bull. 21 Dec. a2/4 The mayor's own press secretary was convicted in a shake⁓down scheme. |
| 1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 2 May (recto rear cover), To send them into actual service..without modification or further shakedown test. |
______________________________
Add:
[2.] d. A period or process of adjustment or change.
| 1946 D. C. Peattie Road of Naturalist i. 10 The four-hundred-year shake-down of the Graeco-Roman civilization. 1960 New Left Rev. Nov.–Dec. 3/2 The mixed economy will emerge naturally in the process of shake-down. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 13 Mar. 8/6 ‘We had to expect some problems,’ explains an executive of a bank in Montgomery County, Maryland, that is in the midst of its shakedown period. 1986 U.S.A. Today 11–13 July a9/1 There's probably going to be a shakedown in some of these organizations in cities that haven't been successful for a prolonged period. |
e. A trial run;
= shakedown test below.
orig. U.S.| 1958 Sci. Amer. Jan. 28/3 The experience with the first two Soviet satellites provided a valuable shakedown for the Minitrack system. 1975 Aviation Week & Space Technol. 27 Oct. 73/1 All phases of testing, including shipyard testing, demonstration and shakedown. 1985 Truck & Driver June 21/1 As an introduction to the season it's been a good shakedown. 1987 Rally Car Apr. 102/1 They were using this event as a shake down before the Skip Brown, unfortunately..the cambelt failed on Warren 1. |