Izzard Words

1. Izzard (zed)
2. Blizzard (severe snowstorm)
3. Dizzard (foolish person)
4. Gizzard (part of a bird's stomach)
5. Lizard (reptile)
6. Nizzard (someone from Nice or dialect spoken there)
7. Quizard (slang for someone good at quizzes)
8. Scissored (cut with scissors)
9. Vizard (mask or disguise)
10. Wizard (man with magical powers)

Uniquely Named Parliaments

1. Model Parliament 1295 (a model for later parliaments)
2. Good Parliament 1376 (due to the sincere efforts by its members to reform the government)
3. Bad Parliament 1377 (because it undid the work of the Good Parliament)
4. Blessed Parliament 1604-1610 (the view of Londoners at least)
5. Addled Parliament 1614 (it passed no bills)
6. Useless Parliament 1625 (it transacted no significant business)
7. Short Parliament Apr 1640 (it lasted only three weeks)
8. Barebone's (Little or Saints') Parliament 1653 (Praise-God Barebone, MP for the City of London)
9. Cavalier (Pensioner) Parliament 1661-1679 (overwhelmingly royalist and the longest ever)
10. Loyal Parliament 1685 (at the outset most MPs were loyal to the new king, James II)

(The terms Convention, Long, Oxford and Rump are used for more than one Parliament. Also note the Mad Parliament 1258, Montfort's Parliament 1264, Parliament of Whitebands 1321, the Wonderful Parliament 1386, the Merciless Parliament 1388, the Unlearned or Dnces Parliament 1404, the Fire and Faggot Parliament 1414, the Black Parliament 1523)

People with a middle initial that does not stand for a name

1. Ulysses S Grant. Union Army general and 18th President of the US. Originally called Hiram Ulysses Grant but an error when he went to West Point military academy left him with this name.

2. Harry S Truman. Thirty-third President of the US. Given the S on his birth certificate by his parents as a compromise between two grandparents, Shipp and Solomon. 

3. J K Rowling. Born Joanne Rowling, when Bloomsbury first published her they wanted two initials on her book rather than her first name, so as not to put off boy readers. She chose K for Kathleen, from her grandmother, the name she now uses for formal purposes. 

4. Iain M Banks. Published The Wasp Factory and two more books without the initial, then used the M for his science fiction titles. His parents intended Menzies to be his middle name but made a mistake registering him.

5. Booker T Jones of the band Booker T and the MGs. Named for Booker T Washington but in his case the T stands for no name.

6. David O Selznick. Producer Gone with the Wind. Born with no middle initial he added one because he fancied it.

7. Benoit B Mandelbrot. The B is a maths joke. Mandelbrot invented the word fractal to describe patterns that repeat themselves infinitely. 

8. ‏Michael J Fox. There was already a Michael Fox registered with the Screen Actors Guild and Fox didn’t like his real middle initial, A for Andrew.

9. Russell T Davies. The re-inventor of Doctor Who was born Stephen Russell Davies. The T was chosen at random to distinguish him from the Radio 4 presenter. 

10. Harry H Corbett. Played the son in Steptoe and Son, and added the H, which he said stood for “Hennyfink”, to avoid confusion with the other one, creator of the glove puppet Sooty.

PS Johnny Cash was christened John R Cash but the R was dropped when he served in the military.

The New Testament Figure Barnabas

1. He was a Jewish man
2. He was from the priestly tribe of Levi
3. His name was Joseph
4. He was nicknamed Barnabas (son of encouragement) by the Apostles
5. He was wealthy but generous; he sold a field and gave the proceeds to the Apostles
6. He was from Cyprus but moved to Jerusalem
7. He was cousin to John Mark
8. He was a pastor in Antioch
9. He was the one who went to Tarsus and brought Paul to Antioch
10. He accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey

Poets Called John

1. John Keats ("Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”– that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know)

2. John Dryden (Happy the man, and happy he alone, He who can call today his own)

3. John Clare (Language has not the power to speak what love indites: The soul lies buried in the ink that writes)

4. John Donne (Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, tolls, It tolls for thee)

5. John Gray (The garrulous sparrows perch on metal Burns. Sing! Sing! they say, and flutter with their wings)

6. John Masefield (I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by)

7. John Betjeman (Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!)

8. John Milton (They also serve who only stand and wait)

9. John Updike (The sky is low. The wind is grey. The radiator Purrs all day)

10. John Newton (That I am hers, and she is mine, Invites my feeble lays; But Saviour, that we both are thine, Demands my highest praise)

Football Teams that play in black and white stripes

1. Notts County
2. Newcastle United
3. Grimsby Town
4. St Mirren
5. Dunfermline
6. Juventus
7. Santos
8. Botafogo
9. Borussia Munchengladbach
10. Beşiktaş

Bands with Latin names

1. Status Quo (The existing state of affairs, Rock band)
2. Desideratum (What is needed or wanted, Brazilian metal band)
3. Oasis (Fertile spot in a desert, Rock band)
4. Carpe Diem (Seize the day, French Progrock band)
5. Ipso Facto (By that very fact or act, Goth influenced psychedelic band)
6. Mea Culpa (My fault, US Punk band)
7. Rigor Mortis (Stiffening of the joints of a body after death, US Thrash metal band)
8. Vice versa (In reverse order, Electronic rock band)
9. The Cortinas (Curtained, used for such a phenomenon on some mushrooms, Punk band)
10. Procol Harum (Misspelt, Far from these things, Latin name for Blue Burmese cat, Rock band)

(Based on a Craig Brown idea. Perhaps Madonna and Muse fit)