make down

Verb

make down (third-person singular simple present makes down, present participle making down, simple past and past participle made down)

1. (Dutch, English, Pennsylvania) To rain or snow; to precipitate.
   • “Boy, is it really making down! And those flakes are the kind I used to think the fairies used for cushions when I was a little kid. It won't take long to pile up several inches of that stuff. I hope it quits soon so we can go out to the trail this afternoon.”1952, Ethel Todd Anderson, Summer in Their Eyes, page 100
   • “It's making down hard out there.” “Very hard. I almost can't see a thing.” “Cum,” Anna said, nudging him farther into the room. “Stand by the woodstove and warm your hands. You look like Jack Frost with that layer of snow on your hat.”2015, Charlotte Hubbard, Jennifer Beckstrand, Kelly Long, An Amish Christmas Quilt, Kensington Books, →ISBN, page 227
2. To make ready or prepare (a bed).
   • At length he said, feebly, “Betty, my dear, make down the bed, and help me to it—it will be the last time.”1818, James Hogg, “Tales”, in The Edinburgh Magazine and Literary Miscellany, page 128
   • He complained of a sore head and wanted to sleep so Ruby set about making down the bed. Emily watched with interest as she lowered the stretcher from the wall, plumped up a straw mattress and threw a blanket over it.2011, Edw Gwilym, Shadows on Men, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 109