Where "Tops" Comes From
"Tops" comes from the straightforward image of being at the top of the pile — the best of the bunch, the standout among a group of otherwise ordinary options. The sense emerged in American slang in 1935 before spreading widely; the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest Australian citation is from a Sydney newspaper in 1947.
It's an older piece of Australian slang, common through much of the 20th century, that's stuck around in everyday speech even as flashier intensifiers have come and gone — "she's tops" remains a simple, warm way of saying someone's excellent.
Source:
"Thanks for the lift, you're an absolute tops."
How Aussies Actually Use It
It's most often used to describe a person's character - "he's a tops bloke" - though it can describe things too.
It has a warm, old-school feel, often used by parents and grandparents as high praise.
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