Excellent recommendation for better cover (3-3)

I believe the answer is:

tip-top

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'excellent' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'recommendation for better cover' is the wordplay.
'recommendation' becomes 'tip' (I've seen this in another clue).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'better cover' becomes 'top' (synonyms. I am not sure about the 'better' bit.).
'tip'+'top'='TIP-TOP'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for tip-top that I've seen is " First-class".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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