Savior or Jailer?

“How the snow falls in the north! Flake on flake falling incessantly, until the small dingles are almost on a level with the uplands. It throws itself on the leaves of autumn, and holds them down in security from the strongest winds. It piles great banks against people’s doors, and mothers and daughters are made prisoners to their own hearths …” ~ W. H. Davies

In The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp, William Henry Davies refers to snow as a savior rescuing leaves from the winds of autumn. But he goes on to describe it as imprisoning people in their homes.

Snow, like people, has a nature that will vary depending on point of view.

This is the second of two articles providing ways for wordsmiths to include snow in their writing.

The Versatility of Verbs and Phrasal Verbs

Snow moves, causes sensations in people, and evokes emotions. Some verbs could appear in all three of the following sections, but to maintain brevity, I chose a single section for most verbs.

For example, let’s consider melt:

The snow melted my hesitation to go skiing. Fresh powder. Lots of it. Why not?

A chinook swept across the valley. The heavy snow melted, creating ideal conditions for mudslides.

The boss grabbed a hairdryer and melted the snow on his windshield.

Verbs (1): Transitive

Transitive verb: a verb that takes one or more direct objects.

The following verbs and phrases, which take direct objects, reveal how snow interacts with people and the environment.

For example:

Snow billowed into scarfs and sleeves, chilling the stranded motorists.

Driving snow whirled through the pass and covered every trace of the escaped prisoners.

A and B
absorb, accentuate, adhere to, advance (across, over, toward), alight on, approach, bedevil, billow (across, over, into, through), blanket, blast (into, through), blind, block, blossom (after, in, into), blow (around, into, over), blur, bluster (across, over, through), bridge, buffet, bury

C
cake (into, on), camouflage, carpet, cascade (into, over), chill, choke, churn (in, into, up, with), cling to, cloak, clog, collect (atop, below, in, on top of), conceal, cool, cover, creep (across, into, through), crisscross, crown, cushion

D and E
dance (across, atop, over), dapple with, dazzle, deaden, drape (across, over), drench, drift (into, over, through), drive (into, through), drizzle into, drop (into, onto), dust, eddy (about, around), encircle, encumber, endanger, engulf, envelop, extinguish

F and G
fan (across, over), feather (across, over), fill, filter (into, through), float (across, into, over, through), flutter (across, into, over, through), fly (into, through), forebode, form [clumps, dunes, ripples, waves], freeze, gather in, ghost, gum up, gust (into, over, through)

H to O
hamper, hide, hinder, hiss (into, over, through), impede, imprison, insulate, lash (at), layer (into, over), lie (atop, on), line, litter, lodge (against, in), loom (before, in), mantle, migrate (into, over, through), mingle with, mold, mound, muddy, muffle, near, numb, obliterate, obscure, overhang

P to R
patter (against, down on, on), pelt (against, down on, on), penetrate, pepper, percolate (into, toward), pillow, plume (around, into), portend, pound (against, on), pour into, protect, rage (across, into, over, through), rain (about, across, down on, into, past), rattle against, reflect, remain (in, on), resemble

S
scud (along, between, into, over, through), seep (into, through), settle on, sheet, shelter, shower (down on, from, over), shroud, sift (into, through), skid (from, off), slide (down, from, off), smother, soar (across, over), spew (into, onto), spill into, spin (about, around), spiral (about, around), splash, splatter (in, on), sprinkle, stick to, stifle, storm (across, over, through), stream (across, over, through), surround, sweep (across, over, through), swirl (around, over, through), swish (about, around)

T to Y
tinge with [antifreeze, a color, dust, fresh blood, rust], tower (above, over), transform into, trap, trickle (into, through), tumble (against, over, through), waft (across, around, over, through), whip (against, at, through), whirl (about, around, over, through), whisper (in, to), wing (across, over), withstand, wreath, yield (before, to)

Verbs (2): Intransitive

Intransitive verb: a verb that doesn’t take a direct object.

For example:

After an hour of light rain, the snow hardened. However, our boots still crunched through the crust. We’d need snowshoes to get out of the valley.

Radioactive ash drifted over the countryside. Within minutes, the snow greyed.

A to L
abate, accumulate, arrive, brighten, cave in, cease, come down, congeal, continue, crackle, crunch, crust, crystalize, deepen, descend, diminish, disappear, dissolve, drift, drop, dwindle, ease, evaporate, fall, fly, glare, glaze, gleam, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, glow, granulate, grey, harden, last, let up, lighten, linger, liquefy

M to Y
melt, persist, peter out, puddle, recede, recommence, reign, remain, resume, retreat, ridge, ripple, rise, rustle, scrunch, settle, shift, shine, sigh, slow, soften, solidify, sparkle, start, stay, stop, taper off, thaw, thicken, thin, threaten, twinkle, vanish, weaken, whisper, yellow

Verbs (3): Verbs That Could Take Snow as an Object

For example:

The UPS driver detested snow. Only three more days to retirement! He couldn’t wait.

The beagle tunneled through the snow until it reached the hole in the fence.

A to D
bank, battle, blacken, blot (from, on), blow off, brave, brush, burrow into, burrow through, camp in, cause, clean up, clear, color (with), compact, compress, deposit (in, on), detest, dig through, discolor, dislodge, dome, dot, dread, drive (through), dump (into)

E to P
eat, encounter, enjoy, fear, fight, fleck (with), fling, forecast, furrow, groom, gust, hate, haul away, heap, heave, honeycomb, hurl, intercept, kick, leave, lick, load, loosen, measure, miss, muddy, pack, paw at, peck at, photograph, pile, plaster, plow, pollute, powder, predict, presage, prevent, prolong, push

R to W
rake, redistribute, remove, ripple, rub, saturate, scatter, scoop, scrape, scuff, sculpt, shadow, shake (off), shed, shovel, smooth, soak, soften, soil, spit on, stamp on, stomp on, survey, sweep, throw, tint, toss, tramp through, traverse, tread through, treasure, trigger, tunnel through, welcome, wipe (from, on)

Nouns

Ensure clear context. Snow could refer to powdered or crystalline narcotics such as cocaine.

A to W
acid snow, blizzard, corn snow, crust, eiderdown flakes, flurries, flurry, graupel, precipitation, sleet, snowburst, snowflakes, snowmageddon, snowshower, snowstorm, whiteout

Props

An alligator crosses the road in the middle of a snowstorm. Wait, what? Huh? Where did it come from?

A man discovers an electronic bugging device in his ear muffs. Is he a fugitive from justice? A spy? An innocent whose identity has been confused with someone else’s? How will the snow affect his next actions?

A cross country skier accidentally wakes a hibernating grizzly. Does the skier flee? Remain motionless while she mentally reviews all the advice she’s ever heard about bears?

Props like the following lead to rich subplots and story twists.

A to E
ablation, alligator, animal spoor, animal tracks, antifreeze, aurora borealis, avalanche, bald tires, black ice, boots, bridge, brine slush, campfire, canyon, car pileup, caribou, cave, Christmas tree hunt, climatic snow line, clouds, coat, coyote, crack in window, crevasse, crocuses, deer, delayed flight, dragon, ear muffs

F to L
fence, feral cat, feral dog, flat tire, frozen creek, frozen lake, frozen waterfall, full moon, gale, glacier, gloves, gully, hail, hand warmers, hang glider, hibernating animal, highway median strip, highway shoulder, hot chocolate, hot tub, ice cliffs, ice patches, icicles, igloo, lean-to

M to R
mittens, mountain climber, muffler, nor’easter, outdoor hockey, owl, parka, permafrost, piece of cardboard, polar bear, polar vortex, potholes, powder snow, rabbit burrow, rain, reindeer, roof, runway accident, ruts

S
salt, sastrugi, scarf, scooter, sculpture, ski goggles, ski hill, ski resort, skis, sled, sled dog, sledge, sleet, slush, snake, snow angel, snow brush, snow cleats, snow crystals, snow fort, snow saucer, snow scraper, snow shovel, snowball fight, snowbank, snowblower, snowboard, snow-covered vehicle, snowdrift, snowflake, snowman, snowplow, snowshoes, spider, squall, squirrel, studded tires, Styrofoam, sunglasses

T to W
tempest, tent, tinsel, tire tracks, tires, toboggan, toque, tow truck, tractor, trail in the woods, train derailment, tunnel, walker, well, wind, window blinds, wolf, wolf pack, woodpile, woodshed

Clichés and Idioms

If you run a word-frequency check and discover too many repetitions of snow in your WIP, you may realize you’ve overused clichés and idioms. Maybe you can replace them.

like baking snow in the oven: impossible, impractical, ridiculous

pure as the driven snow: chaste, guiltless, incorrupt, irreproachable

snow job (a): con, deception, duplicity, scam

snowed under: flooded, inundated, swamped, overwhelmed

to do a snow job on someone: blandish, con, flatter, sweet-talk

to have snow on the roof: have grey, silver, or white hair

to snowball: burgeon, escalate, intensify, mushroom, proliferate

white as snow (1): honest, moral, trustworthy, upright

white as snow (2): anemic, pale, pasty, wan, washed-out

See also 1000+ Ways to Describe Snow Part 1.