To suggest it drinks a lot is literally a lie (4)
I believe the answer is:
fish
'lie' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both to do with contact as well as being verbs in their base form.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?
'to suggest it drinks a lot is literally a' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'is' is within the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for fish that I've seen before include "counter in various games" , "To try to catch" , "Aquatic animal" , "Trawler's catch" , "occupant of tank" .)