Attempt to extort money will agitate whole county (9)

I believe the answer is:

shakedown

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'attempt to extort money' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.

'will agitate whole county' is the wordplay.
'will' means one lot of letters go next to another (I've seen this in other clues).
'agitate' becomes 'shake' (synonyms).
'whole county' becomes 'down' (county of Northern Ireland. I am not sure about the 'whole' bit.).
'shake' next to 'down' is 'SHAKEDOWN'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for shakedown that I've seen before include "Makeshift bed" , "improvised bed" , "extortion" , "Overcharge villainously" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.