The phrase "be as may" is often used to express acceptance of a situation, no matter how undesirable it may be. The spelling of this phrase involves the use of the letter "a" in place of "it" or "that." In IPA phonetic transcription, the phrase can be transcribed as "bi əz meɪ," with the first syllable being pronounced as "bee" and the second syllable sounding like "us." The final word, "may," is pronounced with a long "a" sound, like "maze."