I wonder if the middle ground here is to let it be a teachable moment, and to inform the user by having the string returned by __repr__ be a bit more descriptive. Currently, it is:

> Use exit() or Ctrl-Z plus Return to exit

I propose:

> exit is the function that closes Python when called. To call a Python function, add parenthesis! For example, "exit()".

To share a personal anecdote, Python was my first programming language. I can remember this specific case of REPL-stubbornness being instrumental in teaching me about referencing versus calling a function. Special cases cause confusion, and a shortcut that removes two characters at the expense of skirting past an essential understanding is not the right choice. The place we should be *most* careful about breaking language idioms are in the spots that are exposed to beginners and newcomers to the language.