Origin and history of dido

"prank, caper," 1792, slang, perhaps from the name of the legendary Carthaginian queen in the "Aeneid." Usually in phrase to cut didoes. Century Dictionary repeats a story that attributes it to her having made a bargain for as much land as could be covered by a hide, then cutting the hide into a long, thin strip so as to enclose a large tract, but this is not in the early references to the term, which regard its origin as mysterious.