The music has that deceptively dashed-off quality that is characteristic of younger-than-Neil hip-hop performers, punk-inspired rockers and the rare musicians of Neil Young's generation who haven't settled into complacent craftsmanship.

NPR: Neil Young Faces A 'Fork In The Road'

Charles Bukowski, who died in 1994, shares with Mr Simic a quality which is highly characteristic of American verse from Walt Whitman on a casualness of address, some feeling that the person speaking to us is the not-so-perfect human being next door.

ECONOMIST: New verse

The internet's defining characteristic, the quality by which the active web historically opposes passive TV, is that you pull from it.

ENGADGET: The outrage and sadness of Google Reader's demise

And what would you say, Iain, what is the magic X factor, what is the quality, what is the characteristic that will make you, if you become leader of the Conservative Party, more successful, less unsuccessful than William Hague, what's the difference that will pay off for the Conservatives?

BBC: News | BREAKFAST WITH FROST | Conservative leadership contender Iain Duncan Smith

Cheapness is a top characteristic Warren Buffett requires in companies he invests in, though they must also be high-quality companies.

FORBES: Warren Buffett Stocks with the Lowest P/E Ratios