The question
Which trait in yourself do you like least?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
The Guardian's The Q&A has retained this Proust-derived prompt from at least 2007 through 2026, and ABC independently put it to the Obamas in 2011.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
I’m slightly impatient.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 20 September 2025 source ↗
I’m not into self-deploring.
My phobias. I’m down to two, so I take that as a positive sign.
My distractibility, diminishing memory, and capacity for sustained concentration. My English master once said I had the brain of a butterfly. I feel that 40 years later, I’ve evolved into Dory from Finding Nemo.
I had to ask people about this, because I couldn’t think of anything, and the consensus seems to be: a general lack of self-awareness.
“Do you know what your problem is?” It was a dear friend of mine. They were referring to the fact that I’m impatient.
A Porsche 911 Turbo.
I last shed a tear when my nephew, who is under 10, announced that he was learning the trombone. When I was about the same age and wanted to learn the trumpet, a music teacher said: “The trumpet isn’t for you. You’ve got too-thick lips.”
Looking back is not productive.
Ignorance and rudeness. Decency and a please and thank you cost nothing.
John McCarthy, the journalist who was held captive for five years in Beirut. I’ve met him and he was so full of peace, humility and forgiveness – it was inspiring.
Paapa Essiedu, Eugene Levy, Robert De Niro, Judy Blume, Leona Lewis, Erin Doherty
Search the directory for somebody in particular.