Wipe

#wipe is an extended command in NetHack that is used to wipe off your face (or face-equivalent) should you be blinded by a cream pie, blinding venom or a cursed towel.

Description

Using #wipe is an occupation that removes the offending gunk from your face in one quarter of the time it would take to disappear normally. The tradeoff is that you are busy during this time.

Attempting to use this command when there is nothing to wipe off will result in the message "Your face is already clean".

Though not related in the in-game sense, you can also wipe an engraving in the dust by engraving over it with a towel.

Strategy

The #wipe command is most useful if you get creamed in the early game, where your high armor class makes cream pies more likely to hit and you don't have telepathy. Applying a non-cursed towel can do the same in one move, but #wipe has the advantage of being always available.

Once you have telepathy or warning, it is usually better to simply wait the blinding out and keep fighting, but monks and vegetarians who can't easily get intrinsic telepathy may find it handy more often. Monks are more likely to be blinded, as they can't wear body armor and take longer to reach a decent AC. If you are playing a monk, eating a floating eye for intrinsic telepathy will only temporarily affect your alignment, so you can get away with it as long you're not also pursuing a vegetarian conduct, pacifist conduct, or protection racket.