dido

n.; pl. Didos A shrewd trick; an antic; a caper. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cut a dido, to play a trick; to cut a caper; -- perhaps so called from the trick of Dido, who having bought so much land as a hide would cover, is said to have cut it into thin strips long enough to inclose a spot for a citadel. [ 1913 Webster ]