Fearless, being in flipping saucy papers (8)
I believe the answer is:
intrepid
'fearless' is the definition.
('intrepid' can be a synonym of 'fearless')
'in flipping saucy papers' is the wordplay.
'flipping' is a reversal indicator.
'saucy' becomes 'pert' ('pert' can be a synonym of 'saucy').
'papers' becomes 'id' (identification papers).
'pert' in reverse letter order is 'trep'.
'in'+'trep'+'id'='INTREPID'
'being' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for intrepid that I've seen before include "Afraid not" , "Brave and fearless" , "Bold" , "Fearlessly adventurous" , "without fear" .)