Dido

Origin unknown. The "trick" sense might come from the trick of Dido, queen of Carthage, who, having bought as much land as a hide would cover, is said to have cut it into thin strips long enough to enclose a spot for a citadel.

Full definition of dido

Noun

1. (slang, regional) A fuss, a row.
• 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 30:I remember Raymond telling me years later how when he lived at home, if his mother heard he had been seen as much as talking to a girl, she would kick up a dido.
2. A shrewd trick; an antic; a caper.to cut a dido
• 1838, Joseph Clay Neal, Charcoal Sketches; Or, Scenes in a Metropolis, p. 201Young people," interposed a passing official, " if you keep a cutting didoes, I must talk to you both like a Dutch uncle.

Adverb

1. (US) Misspelling of ditto