Meanings
plural shake and bakes · alternative shake-and-bake · alternative shake 'n bake · alternative shake 'n' bake
- informalSomething fast, or easy to use or perform; a simple, crude object or action.
Yet, until the last few decades of the twentieth century, the approach that Levi describes, which chemists like to call ‘shake and bake’, was often the best they could do.
2001, Philip Ball, Molecules: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, published 2003, page 24 - UShistoricalslanggovernmentA non-commissioned officer with little experience, qualified through a special course.
comparative more shake and bake · superlative most shake and bake · alternative shake-and-bake · alternative shake 'n bake · alternative shake 'n' bake
- informalCrude, unsophisticated; not professionally done, improvised.
Origin
From the brand name Shake 'n Bake, a powdered seasoning, so called because one could put it in a plastic bag with meat, then easily season the meat by shaking.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
shake and bake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shake%20and%20bake
“shake and bake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shake%20and%20bake. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shake and bake,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shake%20and%20bake.
Source: shake and bake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.