Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 20 Episode References
← 425 "Dangerous Curves"	426 "Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words"	"MyPods and Boomsticks" 427 →

Cultural references

• The couch gag references the destruction of Pompeii of 79 AD.
• Some of the clues and answers on the crossword Raphael was solving were:
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt's middle name (Delano)
  • "Singer" of Yentl (Isaac Bashevis)
• Bart says Lisa gone completely "Fruit Loops" when she fell in love with solving crosswords. Lisa related that to one of the crossword's clues "Toucan's delight". Toucan Sam is the mascot of the Froot Loops cereal.
• Bart also says she is "losing it", with Lisa associating it to the 1983 film Losin' It.
• Lisa also thinks of "Bart" as the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco for one of the clues.
• When mentioning San Francisco, Bart thinks of the gay bar Homer went to meet Grady. The LGTB community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the US.
• The EDM song "Scratch and Slide" by Henry Gil can be heard at the gay bar.
• Lisa says the only real test of skill crossword is the The New York Times puzzle edited by Will Shortz.
• "Farewell To You Baby" by Carl Martin is heard when Homer is breaking up relationships.

Springfield Hyatt is a reference to the Hyatt hospitality company

• Springfield Hyatt is a reference to the Hyatt hospitality company.
• "Word Up!" by the funk band Cameo is played during Lisa's cross-word competition.
• The removed words from the dictionary are: skedaddle, Nixonian, zounds, mimeograph and hootenanny.
• Answers on Gil Gunderson's puzzle include Italian physicist Enrico Fermi and English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys.
• Lisa says "Bouvier" was Jackie Kennedy's maiden name. Marge thought her name before Kennedy was "Jackie O". Jackie Kennedy was actually nicknamed Jackie O by paparazzi during her marriage with Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis. Marge thought the name "Jackie O" was related to SpaghettiOs, and so that was where Jackie's money came from.
• "Cherish" by David Cassidy is played after Homer wins Lisa back at the end of the episode.

Trivia

• As spoken, Homer's message to Lisa was, "Dear Lisa, you make me so happy. Really, really, really happy. Sorry, he told me I needed a hundred-and-forty-four letters. What was my point again? Oh, right. Bouvier or Simpson, I cherish you." For the record this little speech has 147 letters, not 144.
• The words in Lisa's Hopscotch Crossword are: justice, happier, vegan, rebel, practicing, over, think, PTA, cerebral, rights, saxophone, playtime, lemonade, paradox, Jimbo, recess, Ralph, overachiever, recital, Krabappel, uniter, PhysEd, phenomena, and tree.
• Words that have been removed from the dictionary in the past year: SKEDADDLE, NIXONIAN, ZOUNDS, MIMEOGRAPH, HOOTENANNY.
• Just after Bart says "Speaking of San Francisco people mover--" the show cuts to Homer at gay club helping Grady break up. During this transition the following can be seen on the screen for a split second: Scene 151, Take 2, Akom and Film Roman Fix
• Tim Long credited the 2006 documentary, Wordplay, which chronicles the national crossword puzzle championships, as the main inspiration for this episode.

← Season 19 Season 20 References Season 21 →

Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes • Lost Verizon • Double, Double, Boy in Trouble • Treehouse of Horror XIX • Dangerous Curves • Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words • MyPods and Boomsticks • The Burns and the Bees • Lisa the Drama Queen • Take My Life, Please • How the Test Was Won • No Loan Again, Naturally • Gone Maggie Gone • In the Name of the Grandfather • Wedding for Disaster • Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe • The Good, the Sad, and the Drugly • Father Knows Worst • Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D'oh • Four Great Women and a Manicure • Coming to Homerica