Sailor taken in merchant vessel that gets shaken
I believe the answer is:
saltcellar
'vessel that gets shaken' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'sailor taken in merchant' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'salt' (salt is a kind of sailor).
'taken in merchant' becomes 'cellar' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'salt'+'cellar'='SALTCELLAR'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for saltcellar that I've seen before include "Small table dish" , "Diner's sprinkler" , "Condiment shaker" .)