41.   For Chancellor Helmut Kohl, his German partner in forging a more closely knit Europe with a single currency, the operative word is relief.

42.   Fun has been the operative word for Marbury, who has made a fast transition from Coney Island high school legend to rookie sensation.

43.   Girl, of course, is the operative word.

44.   Greater flexibility is the operative word when it comes to improving the flow of airborne traffic.

45.   If chaos will be the operative word ascribed to the days immediately after the death of the season, it will apply tenfold to such spring training scenarios.

46.   Impasse will remain the operative word.

47.   In either case, the operative word is tact.

48.   In the timeless Sawyer and Finn books, the operative word is adventure.

49.   In these summer affairs the operative word is progress.

50.   It was the operative word Friday and likely will be around the track and around the racing world in coming days.