[shake.down] n (ca. 1730) 1: an improvised bed (as one made up on the floor)
2: a boisterous dance
3: an act or instance of shaking someone down; esp: extortion
4: a thorough search
5: a process or period of adjustment
6: a testing under operating conditions of something new (as a ship) for possible faults and defects and for familiarizing the operators with it