Knowing the New York Times crossword puzzles get progressively harder as the week progresses, we started out with a Monday.

Between us, it took almost a week to finish.

Tuesday, two weeks.

Wednesday, at least three weeks.

Maybe we got cocky, but for some reason we skipped Thursday and moved on to Friday. Why doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is now we are in the middle of a Friday puzzle, it's been more than a month and we're encountering clues in different languages.

"Do you have any idea what a six-letter word would be that means to wear, literally?" I asked my friend who works in a bank. It's important that he constantly be talking on the phone, selling annuities. So he calls me. A lot. I told him I thought the first two letters might be "ki."

"Kimono," he said. "Kimono means to wear or put on in Japanese."

"How do you know this?" I asked him.

"I saw it on a game show once. I don't think it's fair they are giving you cross-cultural clues," my friend who works in a bank said.

So now, when trying to figure out an 11-letter word for "game that involves opening a door" we not only need consider English-speaking games but those played in Latin, French, Spanish, Crimean and.... It's just too painful to think about.

For the 11-letter word for a 1996 Emmy-winning role in a sitcom that, if our other guesses are right, begins with "elf," should we be considering Emmy-winning roles of sitcoms that aired in Japan?

So from you, dear readers of different backgrounds, languages and experiences, I need a four-letter word that means "to give assistance."

Does anyone know of an 11-letter word that means "royal protection"?