Cliched verbs

These are certain unoriginal verbs that I've found roll off the tongue a little too easily.


Silence is "lapsed" into.

A chill wind "bites".

A fire "rages", and the house is "gutted" afterwards.

A wound or a lovesick heart "throbs". Odd that they both do. I'm sure there's a connection there.

Streams "trickle".

The sun "swelters".

A minion "snivels".

Stars "twinkle".

Disaster "strikes".

Tension "builds" before it "breaks", or if you're really fancy, "snaps".

Sergeants "bark".


They're good ones to avoid, or better, avert with a different turn of phrase. Maybe you could say the chill wind bit with a vehemence not normally attributed to chill winds. Or like a million genetically engineered bed bugs.