un

I.

n. m. Le un (th.): Act 1. On a répété la troisième (scène) du un: We rehearsed Act I, Scene 3.

II.

indef. pron. & num. adj.

1. L'un dans l'autre: 'All in all', all things being considered. L'un dans l'autre, on ne s'en est pas trop mal tiré! You could say that the swings more than made up for the roundabouts!

2. Et d'un! (Et d'une!):

  a Firstly, in the first instance. Et d'un, c'est moi qui gagne les sous, et de deux, t'es trop jeune! For a start, I'm the breadwinner, and anyway, you're underage!

  b So much for that! — That settles it!

3. De deux choses l'une! It's either this or that! De deux choses l'une, tu restes ici ou tu viens avec nous! There's no umming and ahing, you either come with us or stay at home!

4. Ne faire ni une ni deux: To have a go without further ado, to make one's mind up and act straight away.

5. Il était moins une! It was a narrow squeak! — It was a close thing!

6. Etre sans un: To be 'broke', 'skint', to be penniless.

7. En+verb+un/une: There are a number of set expressions in colloquial speech 'riding' an obvious ellipsis, such as: En griller une (cigarette): To have a smoke. Ne pas en rater une (sottise): To put one's foot in it every time. En coller un (marron): To land a punch, etc.