up and at 'em

Idioms and Phrases

Get going, get busy, as in Up and at 'em—there's a lot of work to be done . This colloquial idiom, often uttered as a command, uses at 'em (for “at them”) in the general sense of tackling a project, and not in reference to specific persons.

Example Sentences

“A good amount of days, I felt stuck in a rut. One day, I didn’t get out of bed until 1 p.m. That’s not like me. I’m up and at ’em.”

From Seattle Times

For the past three years, centrist Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has been both the biggest thorn in the Biden administration’s side and, like, the guy who takes the thorn out, puts a homespun treatment on the wound, and says, “You’ll be up and at ’em in no time!”

From Slate

“Up and at ‘em” is our motto, a national directive to work through the pain, codified into too many workplaces that offer no sick pay and into the minds of too many people working in industries that do.

From Los Angeles Times

While her fellow lions got their briefings and sipped the coffee handed to them, Albright was waking her daughters: “Up and at ’em!”

From Washington Post

“The expectation for people to be up and at ’em and ready to pay rent on July 1 is wholeheartedly unfair,” said Kelli Lloyd, a 43-year-old single mother who says she has not worked consistently since the pandemic began in March 2020.

From Seattle Times