Green’s Dictionary of Slang

no chop phr.

(Aus.) no class, second-rate.

1878		J.H. Nicholson ‘Bunkum in Parvo’ in Opal Fever 115: I don’t care a button, Chinese are no chop.
1888		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms (1922) 17: There’s good and bad of every sort, and I’ve met plenty that were no chop of all churches.
1903		J. Furphy Such is Life 7: Mac’s no great chop.
1936		(con. 1830s–60s) ‘Miles Franklin’ All That Swagger 317: All the no-chop bankers’ and clergymen’s sons are mustered there.

In phrases

not much chop

of no great value.

1880		Bulletin (Sydney) 4 Dec. 8/4: Woman was orginally made out of rib, or chop. Even now-adays there are some women who are ‘not much chop’.
1899		Laverton Mercury (WA) 18 Nov. 2/4: Going across country is not ‘much chop’ - this is my opinion, having just negotiated the return journey after a considerable amount of ‘scrub-dashing’ with a bicycle.
1906		Sun. Times (Perth) 14 Jan. 4/7: The pritty [sic] girls on land don’t look much chop in the water.
1922		T.E. Spencer ‘Liza’ in Budgeree Ballads 84: I used to deal in bottles, but I gave that line a rest. / Empty bottles ain’t much chop.
1939		Western Mail (Perth) 30 Nov. 2/1: If you get leave to visit the Big Smoke, buy some decent strides. You wouldn’t be much chop in them new pants they’re issuing.
1944		A. Marshall These Are My People (1957) 142: I’m not much chop on pies, but I’m a toby on puddin’s.
1968		A. Buzo Norm and Ahmed (1973) 25: They’ve improved a lot, these clubs. Twenty years ago they weren’t much chop.
1975		A. Bleasdale Scully 191: They’re not much chop.
1983		J. Byrell (con. 1959) Up the Cross 114: The next few arvos in the bar [...] weren’t much chop mainly because of the general down mood of the boys.
1988		McGill Dict. of Kiwi Sl. 27/2: not much chop of little value; from Anglo-Indian ‘first chop’, first rate, from Hindi ‘chhap’, a print, seal or brand.
1998		P. Doyle (con. late 1950s) Amaze Your Friends (2019) 82: He shook his head. ‘Not much chop, are you?’.
2001		(con. 1945–6) P. Doyle Devil’s Jump (2008) 100: ‘They were all shit [...] Weren’t they?’ ‘Well, yeah, they weren’t much chop, pal.’.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. [as cit. 1988].
2010		L. Redhead Thrill City [ebook] He lied about finishing an important chapter — either that or his muse wasn’t much chop.