Let it be_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Let it be

To my limited knowledge, "be" is let be out of custom, convenience, economy rather than conspiracy – Certainly English grammar is not the way it is to bewilder the Chinese (and I'm sure your Irish friend will agree with me one more time). In the first example, "whether it BE plant or animal" is more commonly put as "be it plant or animal", saving one more word (whether) and meaning "no matter if it is a plant or an animal". In the second example, "BE that here said" is the same as "let that be said here".

Other examples, again to my limited knowledge, are "be that as it may" and "far be it from me". Both expressions are usually used to open a new sentence while addressing something said earlier in a conversation.

"Be that as it may" means "That as it may be", "That may be so, but", or in other words, even though your accept something as true, it does not change a situation. Example (Longman Dictionary):

"James has been under a lot of pressure at work recently."

"Be that as it may, he ought to spend time with his family."

"Far be it from me", on the other hand, dates all the way back to the Bible (King James Version):

Samuel 20:20:

And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

Followed by "to say" or "to do something", "Far be if from me" means "It's certainly not for me to say this or do that, but (I say this or do that anyway)". You say it to disassociate yourself from something, expressing reluctance when, say, you're going to give someone advice. Here's my example: