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.
Too high an expectation of others and myself.
The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 November 2025 source ↗
Fear of flying.
My ability to invariably say exactly the wrong thing in any given situation.
My phobias. I’m down to two, so I take that as a positive sign.
Short-term memory.
I think we become stars.
Curious, confident, cheerful.
I lived in New York during 9/11 and worked a couple of blocks away from the twin towers. I was looking when the first tower exploded and then when the second plane flew in and, before we had to evacuate, I did see people jump to their death.
Like a very full heart and a flip in my stomach when I see him.
I’m at my happiest in the ocean, and even better if my husband is there throwing me around.
Fewer night shifts.
Courtney Pine, Ina Garten, Cybill Shepherd, Alice Waters, Lee Child, Mark Steel
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