U

U adj. inv. Restau U (abbr. Restaurant Universitaire): ‘Refec’, governmentsubsidized student restaurant. un n. m. Le un (th.): Act 1. On a répété la troisième (scène) du un: We rehearsed Act I, Scene 3. un 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. une n. f. La une: The front page of a newspaper. (The expression cinq colonnes à la une refers to a banner headline, the kind that spreads across five columns of page one. The most famous current affairs programme on French television was called Cinq Colonnes à la Une, and dealt with the major stories of the week.) unième adj. ord. Le unième du mois (joc.): The ‘foist’ of the month (the first day). unif n. m. Uniform. unique adj. (iron.): ‘Priceless’, unbelievable. Alors là vraiment, mon vieux, tu es unique! You’re really the limit! (In colloquial French, the expression is always loaded with sarcasm, unlike the ‘straight parlance’ meaning.) unité n. f. ‘Grand’, unit of one million francs prior to the 1958 remonetization. (Since the advent of the Nouveau Franc the sum of 10,000 francs is its equivalent but lacks the charisma of old. Even in the 1980s, sums of money become superlative when described as ‘cinquante millions de nos anciens centimes’.)

urf adj. inv. ‘Classy’, ‘swell’, first-rate. Il s’est levé une nana tout ce qu’il y a de urf! You should see the smashing bird he’s pulled! (Opinions vary drastically as to the origin and nature of this adjective; on the latter issue, it is safer to presume the adjective to be invariable.) urger v. intrans. Ça urge! It can’t wait!—It’s got to be done now! (Cela/ça urge is the only expression where this impersonal verb is encountered.) user v. trans. User sa salive: To ‘talk and talk’, to talk non-stop (usually in vain, in other words, to waste one’s breath). usine n. f. 1 Aller à l’usine (joc.): To go to work. (To have any in-built humour, the expression must refer to ‘non-factory’ work.) 2 Usine à bachot: ‘Crammer’, ‘crammingshop’, fee-paying school for the idle offspring of the rich (also: boîte à bac). usiner v. intrans. To ‘graft’, to work hard. Un peu que ça usine dans son magasin! You won’t see any slackers in his shop! utilités n. f. pl. Jouer les utilités (th.): To have a ‘walk-on’ part (the nearest upmarket thing to faire de la figuration).