Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) an outstanding person, one who defeats all rivals; usu. as the beat of..., the equal of...

1855		T. Haliburton Nature and Human Nature I 192: Sam, your head ain’t like anyone elses [...] I never see the beat of you.
1878		H.B. Stowe Poganuc People 86: That Bill is sassy enough to physic a hornbug. I never see the beat of him.
1907		‘O. Henry’ Trimmed Lamp (1916) 209: Count Fernando Mazzini was his name. I never saw the beat of him for elegance.
1936		J.T. Farrell World I Never Made 186: I never met the beat of you two boys.
1936		(con. 1830s–60s) ‘Miles Franklin’ All That Swagger 82: I’ve never seen the beat of him.

2. an outstanding object, an incomparable circumstance; usu. as the beat of..., the equal of...

1836		T. Haliburton Clockmaker I 19: I expect the world don’t contain the beat of that.
1838		T. Haliburton Clockmaker II 59: There ain’t the beat of it to be found anywhere.
1876		(con. c.1840) ‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer 150: Well, for the land’s sake! I never heard the beat of that in all my days!
1893		M. Philips Newspaper 54: Some managing editors are born with a ‘nose for news’; others achieve ‘beats’.
1912		R.W. Brown ‘Word-List From Western Indiana’ in DN III:viii 592: the beat, n. Anything that would exceed or beat. ‘Did you ever see the beat of that?’.
1918		K.F. Purdon Dinny on the Doorstep 117: Did ever anyone see the beat of that!
1936		J.T. Farrell World I Never Made 447: Cripes, the way she talks! I never heard the beat of it.