far be it from one to

It is not one's place to do or say some particular thing. The phrase is often used as an introduction before saying or doing that very thing. Far be it from me to tell you how much to work on this report, but do you really think it's thorough enough? I think we need to believe what Shirley's saying—far be it from her to lie. If they want to give me a raise for doing the same amount of work, then hey, far be it from me to deprive them of the opportunity.

One will not do or say something. This disclaimer may be true or false, depending on the speaker or the context. For example, Far be it from him to disagree may be used as a straightforward indication that he is unlikely to disagree, or it may be used ironically to indicate that he actually disagrees quite strongly. [Late 1300s] For a phrase used similarly, see god forbid.