Green’s Dictionary of Slang

utmost, excellent, very much, extreme.

1846		Thackeray Diary of C. Jeames de la Pluche in Works III (1898) 403: I sent her a bewtifle Camellia Jyponiky from Covn Garding, with a request she would wear it in her raving Air.
1919		J. Buchan Mr Standfast (1930) 476: If Britain had stood out of the war he would have been a raving militarist, but since she was in it he had got to find reasons why she was wrong.
1952		W.R. Burnett Vanity Row 101: ‘What do you think of our prisoner?’ ‘A raving beauty, of course’.
1960		‘Nino Culotta’ Cop This Lot 184: Only a ravin’ ratbag’d wear a thing like that.
1963		(con. 1944) L. Glassop Rats in New Guinea 113: What a raving ratbag you are.
1980		J. McClure Spike Island (1981) 76: This ravin’ idiot who needs lockin’ up till the juices are down.
1980		T. McClenaghan Submariners I i: cock: I hope in time you’ll come to love me. spider: You’re raving nosh.
1985		B. Humphries Traveller’s Tool 20: Uncle Nev reckons it was a lay down misère that they were all a bunch of raving muff-munchers.
1997		(con. 1960s) A. Frewin London Blues 264: A raving old queer who spent all his time chasing young men.