diff --git a/build/root/Makefile b/build/root/Makefile
index d7dbed83456..51f77b8c617 100644
--- a/build/root/Makefile
+++ b/build/root/Makefile
@@ -112,10 +112,12 @@ define VERIFY_HELP_INFO
 #
 # Args:
 #   BRANCH: Branch to be passed to verify-godeps.sh script.
+#   WHAT: List of checks to run
 #
 # Example:
 #   make verify
 #   make verify BRANCH=branch_x
+#   make verify WHAT="bazel typecheck"
 endef
 .PHONY: verify
 ifeq ($(PRINT_HELP),y)
diff --git a/hack/jenkins/verify-dockerized.sh b/hack/jenkins/verify-dockerized.sh
index c8d981bbec4..ba34d07df34 100755
--- a/hack/jenkins/verify-dockerized.sh
+++ b/hack/jenkins/verify-dockerized.sh
@@ -40,5 +40,4 @@ export LOG_LEVEL=4
 
 cd /go/src/k8s.io/kubernetes
 
-./hack/install-etcd.sh
 make verify
diff --git a/hack/lib/etcd.sh b/hack/lib/etcd.sh
index e887426a083..9bb960cb448 100755
--- a/hack/lib/etcd.sh
+++ b/hack/lib/etcd.sh
@@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ kube::etcd::cleanup() {
 kube::etcd::install() {
   (
     cd "${KUBE_ROOT}/third_party"
+    if [[ $(readlink etcd) == etcd-v${ETCD_VERSION}-* ]]; then
+      return  # already installed
+    fi
     if [[ $(uname) == "Darwin" ]]; then
       download_file="etcd-v${ETCD_VERSION}-darwin-amd64.zip"
       url="https://github.com/coreos/etcd/releases/download/v${ETCD_VERSION}/${download_file}"
diff --git a/hack/make-rules/verify.sh b/hack/make-rules/verify.sh
index 7ed9d3723e6..13fe2a13b4f 100755
--- a/hack/make-rules/verify.sh
+++ b/hack/make-rules/verify.sh
@@ -73,6 +73,17 @@ function is-quick {
   return 1
 }
 
+function is-explicitly-chosen {
+  local name="${1#verify-}"
+  name="${name%.*}"
+  for e in ${WHAT}; do
+    if [[ $e == "$name" ]]; then
+      return
+    fi
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
 function run-cmd {
   local filename="${2##*/verify-}"
   local testname="${filename%%.*}"
@@ -109,13 +120,19 @@ function run-checks {
   for t in $(ls ${pattern})
   do
     local check_name="$(basename "${t}")"
-    if is-excluded "${t}" ; then
-      echo "Skipping ${check_name}"
-      continue
-    fi
-    if ${QUICK} && ! is-quick "${t}" ; then
-      echo "Skipping ${check_name} in quick mode"
-      continue
+    if [[ ! -z ${WHAT:-} ]]; then
+      if ! is-explicitly-chosen "${check_name}"; then
+        continue
+      fi
+    else
+      if is-excluded "${t}" ; then
+        echo "Skipping ${check_name}"
+        continue
+      fi
+      if ${QUICK} && ! is-quick "${t}" ; then
+        echo "Skipping ${check_name} in quick mode"
+        continue
+      fi
     fi
     echo -e "Verifying ${check_name}"
     local start=$(date +%s)
diff --git a/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh b/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh
index 159e73f853f..08b1edcbe3b 100755
--- a/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-openapi-spec.sh
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ KUBE_ROOT=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE}")/..
 source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 
 kube::golang::setup_env
+kube::etcd::install
 
 make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/kube-apiserver
 
diff --git a/hack/verify-swagger-spec.sh b/hack/verify-swagger-spec.sh
index f3ca2217b49..92ee2bcb6b1 100755
--- a/hack/verify-swagger-spec.sh
+++ b/hack/verify-swagger-spec.sh
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ KUBE_ROOT=$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE}")/..
 source "${KUBE_ROOT}/hack/lib/init.sh"
 
 kube::golang::setup_env
+kube::etcd::install
 
 make -C "${KUBE_ROOT}" WHAT=cmd/kube-apiserver