He looks perpetually unshaven, with gray stubble complementing his close-cropped, receding hair, which he teases casually forward.

NEWYORKER: Search and Destroy

"I'm afraid I can't say more, " he teases.

FORBES: Three men and a Web idea

Even Mr Prodi, who teases his home-grown journalists by telling them how avidly he reads the foreign press, seems unruffled when he comes across bleak commentaries in, say, a German newspaper, querying Italy's capacity to keep its finances in order.

ECONOMIST: Prodi��s prayer

The wind sweeps a chattering funnel of dead leaves between his knees and teases the brim of his straw hat and Henry tries to concentrate on what he is doing.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Woodsburner'