Adam Kay: What trait do you most dislike in other people? — FLAPSS

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.

Adam Kay

British comedy writer, author, youtuber, comedian and former physician

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

People who barge into a lift instead of standing aside for anyone exiting should be dipped in kerosene and fired into the sun.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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Lolita Chakrabarti British actress and writer

Lack of empathy.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 May 2022 source ↗

Stephanie Beacham

People who think they’re always right.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 May 2025 source ↗

Hugh Grant Actor

Telling me the menu is only accessible through the QR code.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, November 2024 source ↗

Natalie Imbruglia

Not having the ability to say sorry when they’re wrong.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 18 July 2026 source ↗

More from Adam Kay

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Question If you could revise one chapter of your past, what would you change? Failure & regret

I could have done without being sexually assaulted, or having an eating disorder, or pushing myself to breaking point, but every chapter of my life brought me here.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

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

Self-destruction.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question What disappointment has stayed with you longest? Failure & regret

I’ve never been upgraded on a plane.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you? Failure & regret

A reviewer once called me “artistically bankrupt”, and it doesn’t feel like reviews can get much worse than that.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question How would you describe what love feels like to you? Relationships

When my cold toes drain the heat from his warm ones, but he doesn’t mind at all and is happy for our tarsal temperatures to meet in the middle.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

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

In the one photo I’ve seen where my smile looks convincing – I’m four years old, so I’m guessing then. But I just won a Bafta and that felt amazing, too. So, roughly every 40 years.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

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