def assert_valid_explicit_coords(variables, dims, explicit_coords):
    """Validate explicit coordinate names/dims.

    Raise a MergeError if an explicit coord shares a name with a dimension
    but is comprised of arbitrary dimensions.
    """
    for coord_name in explicit_coords:
        if coord_name in dims and variables[coord_name].dims != (coord_name,):
            raise MergeError(
                'coordinate %s shares a name with a dataset dimension, but is '
                'not a 1D variable along that dimension. This is disallowed '
                'by the xarray data model.' % coord_name)