Hot Cider in the City/References

References/Trivia

Cultural references

The story's title is a pun on the song "Hot Child in the City".
When the bullies (Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney) confront the carolers (Bart, Lisa and Milhouse), Kearney calls the trio the "three wise dorks", a reference to the Biblical Magi, who are often called the "Three Wise Men".
After Moe scares the bullies away, Bart says, "Last one back to Flanders' house is a rotten elf!", a wordplay on the children's saying "Last one in is a rotten egg".

When Milhouse tries to talk Bart into going caroling, he first says that he and Lisa are "going a-wassailing", a reference to the carol "Here We Come A-wassailing".
Milhouse then says they're going to sing "all the classics", including "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Good King Wenceslas".
Bart, Lisa and Milhouse sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" for Ned Flanders, and Flanders says it "blew him away in a manger", referring to the carol of that title.
"Deck the Halls": Dolph tells Bart, Lisa and Milhouse to "Get out of here before I deck your halls and beat the fa-la-la out of ya!"
The bullies sing "Silver Bells" for Moe. Bart uses ventriloquism to make it sound like the bullies have changed the lyrics to confess to playing prank phone calls on Moe.
Moe threatens the bullies by telling them that when he's fnished with them, all they'll want for Christmas is their two front teeth and a new spleen, a reference to the children's Christmas song "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".

Bart also sets up Jimbo to take the blame for the prank calls to Moe in the television episode "New Kid on the Block".