"must do"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Maybe we discussed this nuance of British "do" once before, but this ex. strikes me as so cotton-pickin' weird that I must vent:

  1988 Peter Henry, Liv Tudge, et al., trans. _From the Reminiscences of Private Ivanov_ by Vsevolod Garshin (London: Angel Books) 27: Does it really hurt that much ? It must do.

  "Must _do_"? "Must _do_"?  What the heck is that ? I see no exx. in OED. In theory it fits under _must_ 3.a.(a) "with following infinitive," but my native sense of _langue_ tells me "do" can't follow "must" in answer to a "do" question.

  Ye Syntacticians and Grammatologists: describe !  Ye Philosophers of Tongues: justify if you can !

  JL


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