Major Misunderstanding

Major Misunderstanding is a character in the British adult comic Viz. As his name suggests, he often misunderstands situations completely, and is seemingly unable to interpreat incidences in their own context, instead viewing them through the prism of his own prejudices. For example, he once believed that a blood donor van was a chip van, and berated the nurse operating the van for trying to bring "unwanted custom" to his "close-knit community". The Major has mistaken hooded monks for Asbos and vendors at a church fete for asylum seekers.

He is apparently a retired major who dresses smartly, has a bushy walrus moustache and wears his medals on his chest for all to see; things which suggest that he is very pompous. He seems senile and set in his ways, ranting against anything that he believes goes against his traditionalist right wing moral values. He reads the Daily Mail, and is always drawn with fists tightly clenched at his sides.

He is somewhat similar to other Viz characters, including the early Billy Britain and Victorian Dad, although the major has never been shown to have any family. Like Victorian Dad, he is often presented as a hypocrite. In one episode, a woman who asks him for directions is assumed to be a prostitute; while he rants at her for her immorality he reveals that in his army days he and his fellow soldiers regularly used prostitutes in Asia, excused as a "discreet encounter in a Burmese bordello".