Crossword Genius

He's mastered the art of eating out (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

etcher

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'he's mastered the art of eating out' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'he's mastered the' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
'he' could be 'che' and 'che' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'er' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for etcher that I've seen before include "Artist such as Rembrandt" , "Engraver" , "Artist who likes to make an impression?" , "One making an impression" , "Creative artist" .)

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