My father, so thin and athletic, looked almost frail with shock, while my mother, whose beauty was still remarkable, and who was known on the reservation for her silence and reserve, had left off her characteristic gravity.

NEWYORKER: The Reptile Garden

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'

Just after the muscles start to move, the glottis shuts off the windpipe to produce the characteristic "hic" sound.

BBC: Why we hiccup

While the driving lights are the first use of a laser beam reflected off a mirror, the daytime running lamps, with their characteristic "torch" effect, and the indicator lights use LEDs.

ENGADGET: Mercedes-Benz GLA concept puts laser projectors in headlights, redefines SUV

The memorial's planners managed to head off an animal-rights controversy by having Eleanor Roosevelt's statue shed her characteristic fur boa.

CNN: AllPolitics - Remembering Roosevelt