be that as it may


Nevertheless, it may be true but, as in Be that as it may, I can't take your place on Monday. This phrase has its roots in be as be may, used from Chaucer's time for about four centuries. [Mid-1800s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.