"excellent person or thing," 1897, from coveted varieties of apple that were raised from seed (so called since early 15c.), from Middle English pipin "seed" (see pip (n.1)).
: a pipperoo flick
noun phraseA person or thing that is remarkable, wonderful, superior, etc; beaut, humdinger: His wildest dreams have to be pips ( first form 1912+, second 1942+, third 1897+)
[fr pippin, a prized kind of apple; the shift was probably fr peach as one kind of excellent fruit to pippin as another]
king of Italy (781-810) and second son of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne by Hildegard