La nuit
Night
« la nuit » means « the night » with «à la nuit tombante», « à la tombée de la nuit» meaning «nightfall».
With daylight saving in NZ, our nights are getting progressively shorter and it’s getting dark later and later - «il fait nuit de plus en plus tard».
In France on the other hand, on October 4th, in Paris and other large cities, art and music events are being held under the umbrella of «La Nuit Blanche». All night, from dawn to dusk, there will be exhibitions and organized events. This is a fantastic «nuit blanche» but under normal circumstances, one is less happy with «une nuit blanche» - a sleepless night.
«une nuit bleue», on the other hand, is a night of terror.
Other expressions where «Nuit» is found include:
«La nuit porte conseil» - Let's sleep on it;
«La nuit tous les chats sont gris» (proverb) - All cats are grey in the dark.
«Ils sont le jour et la nuit». They're as different as night and day/ chalk and cheese.
«la nuit» also has the connotation of time.
«Ça remonte à la nuit des temps». That goes back to the dawn of time, That's as old as the hills
«Ça se perd dans la nuit des temps» It's lost in the mists of time
However, “overnight” has no mention of «nuit». It is simply «du jour au lendemain»
(Please note, if you are reading this and you are soon off to bed, «je vous souhaite une bonne nuit»)