United we stand - but there's no sign of Stan! (3)
I believe the answer is:
wed
'united' is the definition.
(united in marriage)
'we stand but there's no sign of stan' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'we' is within the answer.
A single letter 'd' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for wed that I've seen before include "Marry" , "Joined in the dew" , "Married" , "Espouse" , "Join" .)