31.   But the operative word all along had been awkward.

32.   Call it what you want, but the operative word was garage.

33.   Cheap was the operative word, and Gauguin, struggling and penniless in Paris, lost no time in coming.

34.   Chance, of course, is the operative word here -- how much of our life is determined by the merest fluke of fate.

35.   Comfort -- not luxury -- is the operative word.

36.   Conservative is the operative word here.

37.   Defense was the operative word from the start as neither team scored in the first two minutes.

38.   Dignity, in fact, is the operative word.

39.   Down was the operative word Friday.

40.   Easy is the operative word here.