History Main / SustainedMisunderstanding

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[[AC:Comic Books]]
* Played for drama over a ''fifteen year period'' in ''QuantumAndWoody''. Eric Henderson believes his best friend Woody abruptly left because of simmering racism, surfacing only once to leave him a rude note demanding a phone call. In reality, Woody left because he and his mother ran away from an abusive relationship and soon fell into poverty; the note was intended for Woody's father to finally call his long-abandoned son.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* From ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'':
-->'''Uncle Henry''': Dorothy? Well what has Dorothy done?\\
'''Miss Gulch''': What she's done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!\\
'''Uncle Henry''': You mean she bit you?\\
'''Miss Gulch''': No, her dog!\\
'''Uncle Henry''': Oh, she bit her dog, eh?
* From TheLionKing:

* From ''The Adventures of RockyAndBullwinkle''

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* On ANTFarm Lexi is unaware of a fellow cheerleader's birthday since she never received her invitation. When she stopped trying to find out why. Her DumbBlonde friend Paisley says she has to deliver an invitation to someone named " iX37" and assume its a robot. When Lexi sees the name, she realizes that Paisley had the envelope which says LEXI turned upside-down. When she tells Paisley its addressed to herself, Paisley replies, "I didn't know my best friend was a robot!"

* In the ''{{Blackadder}} The Third'' episode "Duel and Duality", Blackadder and Prince George [[SwappedRoles switch places]] after the latter is challenged to a duel.
-->'''Prince George:''' Oh, fantastic, yes, dressing up, I love it. It's just like that story, "The Prince and the Porpoise".
-->'''Blackadder:''' "...and the ''Pauper''", sir.
-->'''Prince George:''' Oh, yes, yes, "The Prince and the Porpoise and the Pauper".

-->'''Blackadder''': Perhaps you'd like to slip into something more confortable?
-->'''Lady Farrow''': No, for there is a great pain in my heart.
-->'''Blackadder''': It's probably indigestion, I'll soon take your mind off that.
-->'''Lady Farrow''': No, it is my husband.
-->'''Blackadder''': Your husband's got indigestion? Well he won't be bothering us then!
-->'''Lady Farrow''': No, he dies tomorrow.
-->'''Blackadder''': Come now, you can't die of indigestion, you're overdramatising.
-->'''Lady Farrow''': He is to be executed at your order. I am Lady Farrow.
-->'''Blackadder''': ''[Silent OhCrap]''
* ''{{Scrubs}}'' had one moment where The Janitor accuses J.D. of taking 'it' after J.D. asked if he had lost something. As J.D. continues to deny taking anything, The Janitor tells him he'll leave his cart unattended and if 'it' should reappear on the cart, no further questions will be asked. J.D. tells him he doesn't even know what 'it' is, to which The Janitor replies, "Then why take it?"
* A deliberate one from ''GilmoreGirls'':

* The entire plot of the Japanese drama ''Anna-san no Omame'' (a.k.a. ''The Best Friend of Beautiful Anna'') is based on this trope.

[[AC:Newspaper Comics]]
* In one ''PearlsBeforeSwine'' anthology, Stephan Pastis wrote that Pig "is rather easy to write for. He just needs to misunderstand everything said to him, and then when it's explained to him, he needs to misunderstand that too." The strip he referenced had this exchange:

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* Used on ''NarutoTheAbridgedSeries''.
* ''MeleesEnd'' uses this when a CloudcuckooLander tries to have a conversation with a {{Ditz}}, and two (relatively) normal guys get caught in the wake:

[[AC:WebComics]]
* ''QuestionableContent'': Hannelore and Marigold discuss their lack of sex lives; Hannelore because she's rather squicked out by those fluids, while Marigold is a shut-in:
-->'''Marigold''': [[SarcasmMode You can probably guess how many boyfriends I've had.]]
-->'''Hannelore''': Uhm...six?
-->'''Marigold''': You're off by six.
-->'''Hannelore''': [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Twelve? Wow!]]
* ''OrderOfTheStick'': Elan tends to do this a lot.
-->'''Elan:''' Man, I can't believe the illusionist guy lied to the nice ghost-paladin!\\
'''Haley:''' He was just a regular human back then, honey.\\
'''Elan:''' Oh. Well then I can't believe he lied to the nice ghost-human.
* ''BasicInstructions'', [[http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/2007/6/17/how-to-listen-to-other-peoples-problems.html second panel here]].
* ''DinosaurComics'' [[http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2161 here]]:
-->'''God:''' '''OH PHEW I THOUGHT YOU WERE DOING DRUGS.'''
-->'''T-Rex:''' Oh, I do them too! I've done aspirin, dude. I follow the instructions on the label!
-->'''God:''' '''NO I THOUGHT YOU MEANT HARD DRUGS.'''
-->'''T-Rex:''' The instructions CAN be quite complicated!

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* A staple of ''RockyAndBullwinkle''
* Often done with Fred the squirrel on ''ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'':

* ''{{Archer}}'', "Skytanic", during a bomb defusal:

* From an early episode of ''KingOfTheHill'':

* The Simpsons, when Homer is required to take a science class

[[AC:Other]]

* ''RedDwarf'', from episode "Pete 1":

-->'''Willie Nelson:''' You look familiar. Aren't you the boy who rakes my yard?\\
'''Bobby:''' No sir, I'm the boy who hit you in the head.\\

* Used on the latest [[NarutoTheAbridgedSeries Naruto]] [[TheAbridgedSeries Abridged]].

* Used on the latest Naruto [[TheAbridgedSeries Abridged]].

Related to ChainOfCorrections and WhosOnFirst.

-->'''Richard''': Make her stop

-->'''Hannelore''': [[CompletelyMissingThePoint Twelve? Wow!]]

* From ''TheWizardOfOz'':
-->'''Uncle Henry''': Dorothy? Well what has Dorothy done?
-->'''Miss Gulch''': What she's done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!
-->'''Uncle Henry''': You mean she bit you?
-->'''Miss Gulch''': No, her dog!
-->'''Uncle Henry''': Oh, she bit her dog, eh?

* The opening skit of the 2006 Emmys found host Conan O'Brien wandering into several TV shows. Towards the end, he walked into an empty house, only to find himself in the middle of an episode of "To Catch A Predator", with every (truthful) explanation that he gives only serving to make him look more guilty:

'''Archer:''' OK, I'm about to...\\

* From ''The Wizard of Oz'':