The term "Up and Adam" is a misused phrase of the proper term "Up and at-um".
The phrase "up and Adam" is often used who are not familiar with the origin of the terminology. The correct term (up and at-um) seems to have originated from the great
war (WWI) of 1914, when the troops came up out of the trenches to advance on the
enemy. The cry "Up and at '
em boys" would have given the troops encouragement. Likewise, the phrase "up and
Atom" is also incorrect use of the term.
"Up and at-um" boys, was a battle cry to have men advance out of the trenches during WWI. Not "up and Adam" nor "Up and Atom".
Cite:
American Psychological Association (APA):
up-and-at--em. (n.d.). The American Heritage®
Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Retrieved November 10, 2015
Chicago Manual Style (CMS):
up-and-at--em.
Dictionary.com. The American Heritage®
Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Houghton Mifflin Company. November 10, 2015).
Modern Language Association (MLA):
"up-and-at--em." The American Heritage®
Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Houghton Mifflin Company. 10 Nov. 2015.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Dictionary.com, "up-and-at--em," in The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Source location: Houghton Mifflin Company. Available: BibTeX Bibliography Style (BibTeX)
title = {The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer},
month = {Nov},
day = {10},
year = {2015}