History BaitAndSwitch / TheSimpsons

** Later in the episode when Grampa and Homer take their tonic on the road, once the citizens catch wind of their ruse to make it appear that Homer is a stranger who will demonstrate the potion's effectiveness [[FailedASpotCheck (in spite of his face being on the bottle)]], the next scene is of the the angry citizens running the duo via car chase out of town. As Grampa yells at him that his bad acting ruined their pitch, Homer then counters that they didn't start chasing them [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn until he put on the getaway music.]] Indeed, once Grampa switched the radio with said music off, the citizens stop chasing them and drive back home.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E10GrampaVsSexualInadequacy Grampa vs Sexual Inadequacy]]", Lisa and Bart buy some books, with Lisa buying [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ueberroth Peter Ueberroth]]'s biography and UsefulNotes/AlGore's book "Sane Planning, Sensible Tomorrow", and Bart buying one about [=UFOs=], saying the government is covering them up (something Lisa derides as being "a paranoid fantasy"). As they get rung up, the library scanner sends a signal to a satellite, which sends it to the US Pentagon, and it's printed out. An Army officer looks over it, and immediately hurries to the White House, reporting to Al Gore... because "someone finally bought a copy of [his] book".

* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E21ThePTADisbands The PTA Disbands]]" has the Springfield Elementary students, on their way to Fort Springfield, trying to slow the dilapidated old bus by holding their coats out the window. Cut to a Fort Springfield tour guide showing people a cannon, explaining it's "fully restored and is in ready-to-fire condition" but won't be fired since it's aimed directly at a manned lookout tower, and adding that these old cannons can easily go off if they get a slight shock. The bus crashes straight into it ... and nothing happens. "Of course, for safety reasons, we don't keep the cannon loaded. [[RealityEnsues That's just common sense]]."
** Heck, the whole ''episode'' is filled with this trope. Later in the episode, Bart plays chess against three people at the same time [[RealityEnsues and loses each game]].

(wire cuts '''half of his arm off''')\\

* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E24LemonOfTroy Lemon of Troy]]" is basically filled with this trope.
** The same season, a similar gag is used in when Bart is being chased by a guard dog. Homer attempts to distract it by throwing a steak its way, but instead the dog swallows it whole while still chasing after Bart, leading Homer to exclaim, "Run boy! He has a taste for meat now!"

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E10VivaNedFlanders Viva Ned Flanders]]", in order to escape the women they accidentally married while drunk, Homer and Ned momentarily mug two janitors in order to steal their uniforms. After some brief sounds of violence occur, the two janitors exit unscathed while Homer and Ned appear brutally beaten up.

* From "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS10E4TreehouseOfHorrorIX Treehouse of Horror IX]]", when Homer is preparing for surgery:
-->'''Dr. Nick''': (holding a syringe) These drugs will make the operation seem like a beautiful dream\\
({{Beat}})\\
(knocks Homer out with a punch to the face and injects himself with the syringe, before dreamily beginning the procedure)

-->'''Homer:''' I saw this in a movie about a bus that had to ''speed'' around the city, keeping its ''speed'' over fifty, and if its ''speed'' dropped, the bus would explode! I think it was called The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down.

-->'''Rev. Lovejoy:''' I remember another gentle visitor from the heavens. Who came to earth... and then died... only to be brought back to life again. And his name was: [[Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial E.T., the extra-terrestrial.]] ''(sniff)'' I love that little guy.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa on Ice]]", Principal Skinner calls a school assembly to give academic alerts to various students failing certain subjects. After giving alerts for "Wiggum, Ralph" and "Muntz, Nelson", he starts calling for "Simpson..." and Bart, who is well established to have constant problems at school at this point in the series, preemptively stands up from his seat. Then Skinner finishes, "...Lisa," to the shock of the entire student body.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E23TheSpringfieldConnection The Springfield Connection]]", immediately after Marge is hired as a police officer, there is a cut to an exterior shot of the Simpsons' house as Homer exclaims, "[[ParrotExpoWhat You did]] '''[[BigWhat WHAT!?]]'''" We then cut to Homer and Marge's bedroom at that moment, where Homer has been talking to... Bart.
-->'''Bart:''' I borrowed your nail clipper, what's the big deal?\\

** Immediately before, Marge sees three cops apparently taking a criminal into the police station, saying things like "I can't wait to get a piece of you!" It turns out that they are bringing in a pizza.

* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E11FearOfFlying Fear of Flying]]" also had Marge, who was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin afraid to fly]], visit a psychiatrist in the hopes of combating her fear. Bart then spots Principal Skinner in the office, who then tries to hide his face by lifting up a magazine as a disguise, only for him to be on the cover of the issue itself ([[EpicFail and making the exact same face, no less.]])

-->'''Homer:''' Wait a minute... there's something bothering me about this place... I know! This lesbian bar doesn't have a fire exit! Enjoy your death trap, ladies!

-->'''Woman:''' What's her problem?

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E15MissionaryImpossible Missionary: Impossible]]" when the PBS show Homer and Bart is preempted for the station manager and Creator/BettyWhite to ask for donations for their pledge drive, they display some items that viewers will receive for their pledges, which include a tote bag with the PBS logo on it and a nice umbrella with a picture of ''the tote bag'' with the PBS logo on it.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E16Duffless Duffless]]", after Homer was arrested for [=DWI=], we see [[AmoralAttorney Lionel Hutz]] leaning inside of his cell assuring him that he'll get him off of the charges, only for an officer to hit his hand telling him to be quiet as he's sitting in a cell ''next'' to Homer's.
** The next day, Homer is seen outside seemingly in his car and about to leave for work. Marge then bids him goodbye and he leaves...via riding Lisa's bike (which Nelson soon [[KickTheDog makes fun of him for).]]

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E13TwoBadNeighbours Two Bad Neighbors]]", after Bart and Homer in their escalating war with UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush fire numerous bottle rockets at his home, he then decides to get even while he holds up a can of spray paint, with the implication that he was going to deface their property with graffiti. Instead, he puts up a banner on his own home with two very crudely drawn pictures of the Simpson men and the headline [[TitleDrop "Two Bad Neighbors".]] Unfortunately, the pictures are so poorly rendered that the other neighbors are confused about who he was slandering, even believing he was saying that about Barbara and himself.

* In "The Cartridge Family" Homer concludes that using his gun to rob the Kwik-E-Mart will apparently lead to him becoming a rich State Senator, we then see a close-up of his face deciding to do so. Fortunately, he's already in his car driving away to his chagrin, but decides to do it next time.
* In "Homer the Smithers", Smithers, forced to take a vacation, decides to find the worst option for his replacement, so Mr Burns will realise he's irreplaceable. He searches the employee database for a variety of familiar-sounding negative traits, but when this fails to narrow his options down much, he just decides to ask Homer.
* In "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment", when a recently-fired Chief Wiggum asks Homer if he has an idea to get beer back into town after it's outlawed, the latter coyly says, "Maybe I do, Chief. Maybe I do..." The scene then fades to the living room with him beckoning ''Bart'' to come up with an idea [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment while he's doing a headstand.]]
* In "Two Bad Neighbors" after Bart and Homer in their escalating war with UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush fire numerous bottle rockets at his home, he then decides to get even while he holds up a can of spray paint, with the implication that he was going to deface their property with graffiti. Instead, he puts up a banner on his own home with two very crudely drawn pictures of the Simpson men and the headline [[TitleDrop "Two Bad Neighbors".]] Unfortunately, the pictures are so poorly rendered that the other neighbors are confused about who he was slandering, even believing he was saying that about Barbara and himself.
* When Bart takes drugs to improve his mental health in "Brother's Little Helper", he tells Lisa, "You know how most people use 10% of their brains? Well, thanks to these drugs, I am now one of them."
* In "The Mansion Family", Homer wants to win an award. Lisa points out that he won a Grammy, and Homer says that he means an award worth winning. Then there is a disclaimer that says that Homer's views do not refect those of the producers, [[TakeThat who do not consider the Grammy an award at all]].

* In "Homer vs. The Eighteenth Amendment", when Moe asks Homer at his bar if he has an idea to get beer back into town after it's outlawed, the latter coyly says, "Maybe I do, Moe. Maybe I do..." The scene then transitions back to the Simpsons' living room with him beckoning ''Bart'' to come up with an idea [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment while he's doing a headstand.]]

-->'''Homer's voice''': ''(In Marge's head) I love you. Will you marry me, Marge? You mean I'm gonna be a Daddy? I know we'll always be together...together...together...''

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E19AFishCalledSelma A Fish Called Selma]]", as Troy and Selma are in the middle of a makeout session, he then pulls away, takes out some breath spray, says "Just a sec" and initially aims the container at his mouth, only to then spray it into ''hers''.
* In another episode, Bart is trolling Principal Skinner from far away with a laser pointer aimed at his crotch while the latter is outside retrieving his mail. Upon seeing it, he first takes down his pants and still seeing it on his underwear, he pulls them down, too. This immediately gains Chief Wiggum's attention...who then informs him that he should get that red dot checked out by a doctor, claiming that a relative of his died of "crotch dot".

* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS14E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIII Treehouse of Horror XIII]]": in "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms," when UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid comes back from the dead to take over Springfield, he's accompanied by an undead gang consisting of Frank and Jesse James, the Sundance Kid, and "the most evil German who ever lived...[[UsefulNotes/PrussianKings Kaiser Wilhelm]]!"
** [[FridgeBrilliance Hitler was Austrian]]

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E4TreehouseOfHorrorVIII Treehouse of Horror VIII]]" Bart's DNA is combined with a fly - putting a fly's head on Bart's body. Lisa says "I wonder what happened to his head". GilliganCut to Bart's head on a fly's body - seemingly trapped on a spider's web. But as the spider approaches, Bart flies away and says "sucker" - the spider shaking its legs at him in anger.

* In "A Fish Called Selma", as Troy and Selma are in the middle of a makeout session, he then pulls away, takes out some breath spray, says "Just a sec" and initially aims the container at his mouth, only to then spray it into ''hers''.

* "Treehouse of Horror XIII": in "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms," when Billy the Kid comes back from the dead to take over Springfield, he's accompanied by an undead gang consisting of Frank and Jesse James, the Sundance Kid, and "the most evil German who ever lived...[[UsefulNotes/PrussianKings Kaiser Wilhelm]]!"

* In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E9ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer El Viaje Misterioso De Neustro Jomer]], Homer is lying on a couch, lamenting that he thought Marge was his soulmate, but now he doesn't know if he even has a soulmate, much less if it's Marge. We are led to assume he's talking to a psychiatrist... until the view widens to reveal that he's lying on a couch in a furniture store, talking to a salesman.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E23TheSpringfieldConnection The Springfield Connection]]", immediately after Marge is hired as a police officer, there is a cut to an exterior shot of the Simpsons' house as Homer exclaims, "[[ParrotExpoWhat You did]] '''[[BigWhat WHAT!?]]''' We then cut to Homer and Marge's bedroom at that moment, where Homer has been talking to... Bart.

* In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E9ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer]], Homer is lying on a couch, lamenting that he thought Marge was his soulmate, but now he doesn't know if he even has a soulmate, much less if it's Marge. We are led to assume he's talking to a psychiatrist... until the view widens to reveal that he's lying on a couch in a furniture store, talking to a salesman.

* In [[Recap/ElViajeMisteriosoDeNuestroJomer]], Homer is lying on a couch, lamenting that he thought Marge was his soulmate, but now he doesn't know if he even has a soulmate, much less if it's Marge. We are led to assume he's talking to a psychiatrist... until the view widens to reveal that he's lying on a couch in a furniture store, talking to a salesman.

* ''Treehouse of Horror XIII'': in "The Fright to Creep and Scare Harms," when Billy the Kid comes back from the dead to take over Springfield, he's accompanied by an undead gang consisting of Frank and Jesse James, the Sundance Kid, and "the most evil German who ever lived...[[UsefulNotes/PrussianKings Kaiser Wilhelm]]!"

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E13TheManWhoGrewTooMuch The Man Who Grew Too Much]]", Sideshow Bob demonstrates his newfound SuperStrength obtained through [[LEGOGenetics giving himself animal DNA]] by throwing the concrete block chained to his leg through a skylight. Outside, Hans Moleman is selling porcelain figurines. You're led to assume the block will land on the figurines, but instead it lands on him.
** The joke was reused in another episode where Homer's idiocy causes the fast food district to blow up. After the pizza restaurant blows up, several residents look up at the explosion and have dough land on top of their faces. Then Hans walks up and looks up in anticipation of getting a face full of dough, only to be crushed by a large piece of the building instead.
* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E12MountainOfMadness Mountain of Madness]]", a mountain ranger finds the workers from the power plant's teamwork exercise in the wrong cabin, since the correct cabin was covered by avalanches:

* "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E2ATaleOfTwoSpringfields A Tale of Two Springfields]]" has Homer and Bart sneaking in to see Music/TheWho and trying to bypass the security guards. He then decides to use the chloroform he was given... [[EpicFail by giving the guard the bottle as a present.]] The guard then yells if he want to see them, he just needed to say so and then throws them out a door--into the dressing room of the band!

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa on Ice]]", Prinicipal Skinner calls a school assembly to give academic alerts to various students failing certain subjects. After giving alerts for "Wiggum, Ralph" and "Muntz, Nelson", he starts calling for "Simpson..." and Bart, who is well established to have constant problems at school at this point in the series, preemptively stands up from his seat. Then Skinner finishes, "...Lisa," to the shock of the entire student body.
* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E9SimpsonsChristmasStories Simpsons Christmas Stories]]", the Nutcracker segment show how the various citizens of Springfield spend their respective holiday. We then see that Groundskeeper Willie is sitting around the table enjoying Christmas dinner with his family...which then turns out to be [[spoiler: AllJustADream as we see him sleeping alone in his shack...which then turns into a DreamWithinADream as we see him actually passed out in the snow with a flask of whiskey at his side.]]

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E17BartsGetsAnElephant Bart Gets an Elephant]]" Homer opens the door to kids who want to see Stampy the Elephant and offer to pay money to see it. This gives Homer an idea to put up a sign… that says "Go away".