diff --git a/letsencrypt/cli.py b/letsencrypt/cli.py
index 1ad57b738..73dd24bdb 100644
--- a/letsencrypt/cli.py
+++ b/letsencrypt/cli.py
@@ -730,24 +730,20 @@ def create_parser(plugins, args):
     return helpful.parser, helpful.args
 
 # For now unfortunately this constant just needs to match the code below;
-# there isn't an elegant way to autogenerate it in time. pylint: disable=bad-whitespace
-VERBS = {
-    "run"            : run,
-    "auth"           : auth,
-    "install"        : install,
-    "revoke"         : revoke,
-    "rollback"       : rollback,
-    "config_changes" : config_changes,
-    "plugins"        : plugins_cmd
-}
-HELP_TOPICS = ["all", "security", "paths", "automation", "testing"] + VERBS.keys()
+# there isn't an elegant way to autogenerate it in time.
+VERBS = ["run", "auth", "install", "revoke", "rollback", "config_changes", "plugins"]
+HELP_TOPICS = ["all", "security", "paths", "automation", "testing"] + VERBS
 
 def _create_subparsers(helpful):
     subparsers = helpful.parser.add_subparsers(metavar="SUBCOMMAND")
 
-    def add_subparser(name, func):  # pylint: disable=missing-docstring
-        subparser = subparsers.add_parser(
-            name, help=func.__doc__.splitlines()[0], description=func.__doc__)
+    def add_subparser(name):  # pylint: disable=missing-docstring
+        if name == "plugins":
+            func = plugins_cmd
+        else:
+            func = eval(name) # pylint: disable=eval-used
+        h = func.__doc__.splitlines()[0]
+        subparser = subparsers.add_parser(name, help=h, description=func.__doc__)
         subparser.set_defaults(func=func)
         return subparser
 
@@ -756,8 +752,8 @@ def _create_subparsers(helpful):
     # these add_subparser objects return objects to which arguments could be
     # attached, but they have annoying arg ordering constrains so we use
     # groups instead: https://github.com/letsencrypt/letsencrypt/issues/820
-    for v, func in VERBS.items():
-        add_subparser(v, func)
+    for v in VERBS:
+        add_subparser(v)
 
     helpful.add_group("auth", description="Options for modifying how a cert is obtained")
     helpful.add_group("install", description="Options for modifying how a cert is deployed")
diff --git a/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py b/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py
index f5613ee58..9a99a74cc 100644
--- a/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py
+++ b/letsencrypt/tests/cli_test.py
@@ -44,8 +44,6 @@ class CLITest(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def test_no_flags(self):
         with mock.patch('letsencrypt.cli.run') as mock_run:
-            from letsencrypt import cli
-            cli.VERBS["run"] = mock_run
             self._call([])
             self.assertEqual(1, mock_run.call_count)