I sat down on Nov. 27 with a mug of coffee and The Fountain Hills Times crossword, hoping for a relaxing morning in the bosom of my family home for the Thanksgiving holiday. Alas – to my surprise, my efforts were stymied by the numerous arcana selected presumably only for their vowel contents.

Would even the most well-read and widely travelled among us know the “Rabia” mosque, the Transylvanian city “Sibiu,” or a “Miao” temple? Who has eaten “Ragee,” or looked at a plant’s “Alae?” Can an “Apar” or a “Dama” be found at the Phoenix zoo? And who would have known of the alternative spelling, “Ameer,” for an independent ruler? I cry foul!

In this reader’s humble opinion, the crossword should not be an exercise in filling the grid with words relegated to the depths of the dictionary, and doing so ruins all the fun. If I wanted to be deeply frustrated during the holidays, I would simply tune in to the impeachment hearings.