It will surely provoke, and seems meant to.

As written, the Gephardt amendment would surely provoke a veto.

Fury at the interlopers' insolence-and greed at the thought of easy money-would surely provoke a hijack situation, Bolan figured.

But could the BBC withstand another outcry on the scale of the 6 Music debacle, which such a move would surely provoke?

Whether anything does is the question most likely to fuel the cafe-table arguments "Babel" will surely provoke.

His image, forever haunting to his guilt-plagued mother, can hardly extend to envelop a play so multilayered, though it must surely provoke questions from the audience.

His cool tone, Spock thought, would surely provoke McCoy into a rant.

The announcement of the finalists this fall will surely provoke another round of public introspection and debate.

But, more important, it will surely provoke a torrent of research from both supporters and opponents.

That would surely provoke a confrontation with the Mayor, and would be surprising from a Council that has been relatively docile so far.