be it

[nekocat]

You do as you like! But on your own head be it if we have trouble from this scorpion, Wolff! I disclaim all responsibility!

What on earth does "be it" here mean? Is it an idiom or a present subjunctive?

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

It's another way to say, "It will be on your own head if we have trouble from this scorpion, Wolff!"

 

[yukio_michael]

Nekocat, are you reading a lot of classic literature...? This might not be the best representation of modern colloquial English, though I applaud your interest, especially in novels like Frankenstein, which sort of get short shrift due to their popularity in pop-culture, but there are very many subtle metaphors to that book.

 

[made of stone]

'On your head be it' is an idiom which means 'the responsibility for the result of that action or decision will be entirely yours'.

 

[bakaKanadajin]

Literally, (and a little uncommon relative to modern English as yukio_michael pointed out) it means.

On your head (your conscience, your fault) be (something is, something exists) it (the bad thing we're discussing) if..

Thats the breakdown of the wording. As made of stone said, it means

'the responsibility for the result of that action or decision will be entirely yours'.

 

[Sarapva]

It sounds like a Shakespearean or old English expression. It could also be worded, "Be it on your own head ......" But you wouldn't hear this anywhere in the modern world (except maybe in a few subcultures).

 

[nekocat]

皆さん大変お世話になっています Tintin のある巻にでてきたものです。タンタンは古い（１９３０年代以降）ので、古い熟語などがいっぱい使われているのでしょう。

 

[made of stone]

ﾅ?F窶堋ｳ窶堙ｱ窶佚･窶｢ﾃ鞘?堋ｨﾂ青｢ﾋ彙窶堙俄?堙遺?堙≫?堙??堋｢窶堙懌?堋ｷﾂ Tintinﾂ 窶堙娯?堋?窶堙ｩﾅ?ﾂｪ窶堙俄?堙??堙??堋ｫ窶堋ｽ窶堙?窶堙娯?堙??堋ｷﾂ。ﾆ耽ﾆ停?愴耽ﾆ停?懌?堙最津??堋｢ﾂ（窶啀窶唸窶啌窶唹窶扼窶佚｣ﾋ?按降ﾂ）窶堙娯?堙?、ﾅ津??堋｢ﾂ熟ﾅ津ｪ窶堙遺?堙??堋ｪ窶堋｢窶堙≫?堙鞘?堋｢ﾅｽg窶堙ｭ窶堙ｪ窶堙??堋｢窶堙ｩ窶堙娯?堙??堋ｵ窶堙･窶堋､ﾂ。

Nekocat chan, forgive me, but I can't read and understand Japanese...what does that mean??

 

[Supervin]

タンタンは古い（１９３０年代以降）ので、古い熟語などがいっぱい使われているのでしょう。

Well, not really 古い - most of the dialogue there is still everyday English. 'Be it' is still alive in today's 熟語. Usually it's found in the expression, 'so be it'.

In that dialogue, 'be it' is used to convey emphasis in a way that implies 'okay, but be prepared for whatever happens and don't say I didn't warn you'.

If you remove this emphasis from

'But on your own head be it if we have trouble from this scorpion, Wolff!'

it would become:

'But on your own head it will be if we have trouble from this scorpion, Wolff!'

The result then becomes just a mere statement.

Been reading 月世界探検 again, haven't you?

 

[StandAlone2323]

it means, "let it be on your head..." its kinda like saying "so be it", you dont conjugate the verb "be".

 

[Kinsao]

And it is fairly commonly in use in modern English. If you said to someone "On your own head be it", everyone would know what you meant.

 

[nekocat]

What a wonderful resource of human knowledge we can tap into! You all are wealth of info, literally. ありがとう！