Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words 

Homer gets a job breaking up couples, and Lisa becomes an expert crossword puzzle solver, but Homer bets against her in a competition.

Directors:

Nancy Kruse, Mike B. Anderson

Writers:

Matt Groening (created by), James L. Brooks (developed by)

Stars:

Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Dan Castellaneta	...	Homer Simpson (voice)
Julie Kavner	...	Marge Simpson / Patty Bouvier / Selma Bouvier (voice)
Nancy Cartwright	...	Bart Simpson (voice)
Yeardley Smith	...	Lisa Simpson (voice)
Hank Azaria	...	Moe Szyslak / Chief Wiggum / Mayor Quimby / Snake / Superintendent Chalmers (voice)
Harry Shearer	...	Mr. Burns / Principal Seymour Skinner / Ned Flanders (voice)
Merl Reagle	...	Himself (voice)
Will Shortz	...	Himself (voice)
Scott Thompson	...	Grady (voice)
Marcia Wallace	...	Edna Krabappel (voice)
Pamela Hayden	...	Milhouse Van Houten (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Brandine Spuckler / Lindsey Naegle / Baby Ghost / Woman Judge / Various (voice)
Russi Taylor	...	Various (voice)
Karl Wiedergott	...	Various (voice)

Storyline

Having told Seymour that Edna has called off their engagement,Homer gets to tell lovers their partners have dumped them - as a job. Meanwhile Lisa develops a talent for solving crosswords and enters a contest,winning money for Homer when he bets on her. However when he bets against her in the final and she does lose she feels betrayed,until he comes up with a novel way of saying 'Sorry' to her.

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Plot Keywords:

crossword puzzle | 2d animation | lemonade stand | getting dumped | gay bar | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 November 2008 (USA)

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gracie Films, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Dolby Surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second time Lisa participates in a spelling based competion the first being the Spell-lympics in "I'm Spelling As Fast As I Can".

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Goofs

The word count of Homer's apology is not 144 letters, rather 149 letters with one hundred and forty four spelled out or 134 using numerals (with the use of no punctuation).

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Quotes

Homer Simpson: We dispose of your relationships humanely thanks to our patented TenderDump system. We'll be there in thirty minutes, our your next break-up is freeee!

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Connections

References Yentl (1983)

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Soundtracks

Cherish
Performed by The Association

User Reviews

Lisa geeks out on another brain exercise

Couch gag rating: 8/10 The Simpsons family find their seats just as Mount Vesuvius erupts.

The episode: Bart and Lisa have their lemonade stand broken up because they don't have a vendor's license. The line to get the license is held up by the man there doing a crossword puzzle. A frustrated Lisa quickly zooms through the crossword puzzle for him and discovers her love for them.

Favorite moment(s): The tribute to words removed from the dictionary.

This episode should be familiar to all of us. Homer does something which disappoints Lisa and he has to win her respect back. I wish that would been explored longer. I thought the use of Marge's maiden name was pure genius and hadn't been done prior. I only wish this had been the main plot of the episode. Nonetheless, the tender moment at the end is touching.

Overall rating: 7/10 Nothing disappoints in this episode but there aren't many jokes and so many episodes have been made similar to the main plot and done better.