Green’s Dictionary of Slang

excellent, first-rate.

1853		Dickens ‘Slang’ in Household Words 24 Sept. 77/1: Everything that pleases him is ‘crushing, by Jove!’.
1860		Hotten Dict. of Modern Sl. etc.
1873		Sl. Dict.
1903		Truth (London) 18 June 1678/3: Slang terms: [...] cheese, clipper, crack, crushing, down-the-road, extensive [etc] .