Fill in the blank using the correct phrasal-verb meaning “to pay” (collocation with “__ it up”) “But the introductory fee does not stop after the initial handshake; brokers have to ______ it up after each transaction.” Choose the most appropriate word to complete the idiom.

Given data

• Context: brokers must pay an introductory fee repeatedly after each transaction.
• Pattern in the sentence: “______ it up”.

Concept/Approach
In idiomatic English, cough it up means “to pay money unwillingly or under obligation.” This fits a recurring fee better than alternatives like “bring it up” (which means “mention a topic”).

Option analysis
cough — forms the idiom “cough it up,” i.e., pay the fee.bring — “bring it up” = mention; wrong meaning.boost — “boost it up” is non-idiomatic here.give — “give it up” = surrender/stop; wrong sense.

Common pitfalls
Confusing “bring it up” (talk about) with “cough it up” (pay).

Final Answer
cough