far be it from me to

/fˈɑː biː ɪt fɹɒm mˌiː tuː/

/fˈɑːɹ biː ɪt fɹʌm mˌiː tuː/

[phrase]

[PHRASE]

used to make it clear that one is about to criticize or disagree with someone but is unwilling to do so

Examples

1. Far be it from me to tell any lifelong Mariners fan how to feel about any of this, but for the rest of us, what is it truly missing?

2. There are people in the gardening world, particularly tomato growers who swear by the use of copper through the tomato stem and, you know, far be it from me to condemn that or poo-poos or say it's stupid, I'm just going from my own experience and through my own experimentation.

3. Far be it from me to Challenge Eric Holder, but maybe the last two years has challenged that NOTION.

4. Far be it from me to tell anybody how they should live their life.