Green’s Dictionary of Slang

flipper n.4

[? he ‘flips’ things around/SE flippant]

1. (Irish) a messy, untidy man.

[Ire]P.W. Joyce Eng. As We Speak It In Ireland.
[Ire]Share Slanguage.

2. (US campus) an impulsive person.

[US]Eble Campus Sl. Fall 3: flipper – impulsive, flippant person [...] ‘Tom is such a flipper.’.