To cut a dido

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Dido \Di"do\, 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]