La copa de un pino

[poli]

Has anyone heard this phrase before?

[Rusty]

It's used as an intensifier.
Translate as 'best', 'great', 'real', etc.

Es un profesional como la copa de un pino.
He is a professional among professionals. He's a real professional.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by poli

Has anyone heard this phrase before?

I have never heard it like Rusty is saying.

La copa de un pino means "the top of the pine tree"

La copa de los árboles = the top of the trees (treetop)

[aleCcowaN]

Es españolismo:

[España] X como la copa un pino = [Argentina] flor de X (about professions, roles, ...)

"Son lo máximo", youngsters from many a country would say.

[poli]

OK. The direct translation to English is the tops.
Thanks Chile, I kept envisioning a goblet made of pine wood.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by poli

OK. The direct translation to English is the tops.
Thanks Chile, I kept envisioning a goblet made of pine wood.

Never heard that expression before.

[Don José]

A common expression here. Not only for "good" things:

Una mentira como la copa de un pino.
A big lie.

[aleCcowaN]

We use in Argentina "grande como una casa" when there's a negative connotation:

una mentira grande como una casa = a big fat lie

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Don José

Una mentira como la copa de un pino.
A big lie.

¡Sí!

Dijiste una mentira como (la copa de) un pino/una catedral/una casa.
You told a whopper of a lie.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by aleCcowaN

We use in Argentina "grande como una casa" when there's a negative connotation:

una mentira grande como una casa = a big fat lie

Same in Chile.