Keith McNally: What trait do you most dislike in other people?

The question

What trait do you most dislike in other people?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A verbatim standing question in The Guardian's rotating Q&A questionnaire, documented across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Keith McNally

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

Using knowledge as a weapon.

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2026 source ↗

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Tom Fletcher

People who aren’t polite.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 November 2025 source ↗

Judith Light

Bigotry and cruelty in any form.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2019 source ↗

Timothy Hutton

An arbitrary contrarian.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2015 source ↗

Russell Mael

People not remembering who I am.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 May 2025 source ↗

More from Keith McNally

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Question What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy? Time & hindsight

Cycling around Martha’s Vineyard alone in the summer of 1976.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2026 source ↗

Question Which trait in yourself do you like least? Identity & self

Craving the kind of success I pretend to despise.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2026 source ↗

Question What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? Identity & self

Taking an overnight train in Europe.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 20 January 2026 source ↗

Question What do you fear most? Identity & self

My children dying before me.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, January 2026 source ↗

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