I'll leave bar, being put on 'nil by mouth' (4)
I believe the answer is:
oral
'by mouth' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for oral that I've seen before include "Exam using speech" , "Relating to speech" , "language exam" , "Ant; tourist (dial.)" , "Kind of examination" .)