adj. (common).—First rate. [From Hind., chaap, a stamp, an official mark on weights and measures; hence used to signify quality.] Also SECOND-CHOP (q.v.).
1855. THACKERAY, The Newcomes, ch. iv. ‘As for poetry, I hate poetry.’ ‘Pen’s is not FIRST CHOP,’ says Warrington.
1880. A. TROLLOPE, The Duke’s Children, ch. lxviii. Old Beeswax thinks that if he can get me up to swear that he and his crew are real FIRST-CHOP hands, that will hit the governor hard.
