What it means
Top-drawer means properly first-rate, classy, the good stuff. You use it for anything that feels a cut above the rest: a player, a meal, a hotel, a performance, whatever's come out spotless and a bit posh. It's got an old-school British ring to it, like saying this didn't come from the bargain pile, it came from the drawer with the best bits in it.
Usage examples
"Their hospitality was top-drawer from start to finish, we wanted for nothing."
"The new chippy on the high street is absolutely top drawer, the batter is light, the chips are double cooked and the mushy peas have a colour that has not been seen in this town for at least fifteen years."
"The new signing is absolutely top-drawer, worth every penny they paid."
"Top drawer save from the keeper at the back post in the final minute, the lad threw himself across the goalmouth like he was being paid bonus and pulled the cross out of the top corner with one glove."
"That little bistro by the station is proper top-drawer, not a duff plate in the place."
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Where it comes from
This is old British English. By the late 1800s, top drawer was already being used for people and things seen as first-class or socially high-grade. The image comes from the household top drawer, where the best linen, jewellery, and prized bits were kept. It never really lost that polished UK flavour.
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