so be it
phraseEtymology Attested since late Old English.
1
Idiomatic, Subjunctive An indication of acceptance, especially of a situation which is not entirely favorable.
- Minister of State: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Prime Minister, I beg to introduce a bill entitled an Act to amend the Interpretation Act. Clerk: Interpretation (Amendment) Bill. Speaker: Second reading what day? Minister of State: At the next available sitting. Speaker: So be it.
- From storm to storm ! So be it, then. Born in throes, ’tis fit that man should live in pains and die in pangs! So be it, then! Here's stout stuff for woe to work on. So be it, then.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Doubloon”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 480:
2 more examples
- It doesn't matter which party it is. If the people choose one, a Democrat, then so be it.2009 February 22, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, via ABC:
- The reason was that China's stability was at stake, according to Singapore's statesman Lee Kuan Yew. He once said: "He (Deng Xiaoping) took over and said, "If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it."2014 October 10, Diane M. Francis, “Why Does China Get To Renege on Its Promise of Democracy in Hong Kong?”, in HuffPost:
- Related terms
- sobeit, as the case may be, be that as it may, it is what it is, let it be, amen