He makes the grade (5)

I believe the answer is:

edgar

'he' is the definition.

'makes the grade' is the wordplay.
'makes' is an anagram indicator.
'grade' is an anagram of 'EDGAR'.

(Other definitions for edgar that I've seen before include "character in King Lear" , "10th-century king" , "Part of 1 25 [KING LEAR]" , "- Wallace, Eng. thriller writer" , "J. -- Hoover, FBI boss" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent and The Globe and Mail.

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