April showers bring May flowers, and May brings… a lot of idioms! There are quite a few idioms that use the word “may”. Today, we are looking at a few that are easy to incorporate into everyday speech. Note: these all use the word “may” that is a modal, not the word “May” that is used for the month.
“come what may”
No matter what will/might happen.
Examples:
“I will continue to work this job, come what may, because I am loyal to my company.”
“There was recently a crime in this neighborhood, and some fear for their safety. However, I believe that it was one incident and not a trend, we will stay in this house come what may.”
“be that it may”
Use this expression when you understand a piece of information, and this piece of information might be able to change your opinion, but it doesn’t. In more simple terms, it can often be substituted for “however.”
Examples:
“I understand that you were late for work because of a flat tire; be that it may, you must still stay late tonight to work your full shift.”
“It is too bad that your computer stopped working. Be that it may, your paper is now late.”
Want to learn some more idioms? Check out some of our other blogs on this subject:
Various helpful idiomatic expressions