far be it from me to

FORMAL
This page is about the conversational phrase far be it from me to

Meaning

You can say this to make it appear that you don't want to criticize, correct, disagree, etc., even though that's what you're doing.

For example

  • "Far be it from me to contradict the president, but what he said was wrong."

  • "Far be it from me to criticize our soldiers, but the evidence shows they killed civilians."

Note:
Often used in a formal setting like a court of law or a parliament when saying something negative about a respected person or institution.

Quick Quiz

"Far be it from me to question a judge, but in this case

a. he was fair."

b. he was right."

c. he was wrong."
a) he was fair." b) he was right." c) he was wrong."

Contributor: Matt Errey