dike

dike vt.  To remove or disable a portion of something, as a
   wire from a computer or a subroutine from a program.  A standard
   slogan is "When in doubt, dike it out".  (The implication is that
   it is usually more effective to attack software problems by
   reducing complexity than by increasing it.)  The word `dikes' is
   widely used among mechanics and engineers to mean `diagonal
   cutters', esp. the heavy-duty metal-cutting version, but may also
   refer to a kind of wire-cutters used by electronics techs.  To
   `dike something out' means to use such cutters to remove
   something.  Indeed, the TMRC Dictionary defined dike as "to attack
   with dikes".  Among hackers this term has been metaphorically
   extended to informational objects such as sections of code.