You’re staring at the grid. Your coffee is cold. You have one mistake left.
The New York Times Connections puzzle has this uncanny ability to make you feel like a genius one second and a total fraud the next. You see words like "Ambiance" or "Music," and then you see it: Eno. Three letters. Looks like a typo. Looks like a prefix. It’s sitting there, mocking you, and honestly, if you aren't a fan of ambient soundscapes or 70s art rock, you're probably asking yourself what is Eno in Connections and why it's ruining your streak.
It’s Brian Eno. That’s the answer.
But knowing the name is only half the battle. In the context of a Connections puzzle, "Eno" is a high-utility word for editors because it fits into so many different buckets. It’s the ultimate "bridge" word that links music, technology, and even Microsoft history.
Why Brian Eno Is a Connections Regular
Wyna Liu and the editorial team at the NYT love Brian Eno because he’s a shapeshifter. He isn't just a guy who played keyboards in a band with feathers on his shoulders—though he did that too with Roxy Music. He’s a producer, a visual artist, and a theorist.
When you see Eno in a grid, your brain should immediately start scanning for a few specific categories. The most common one is Famous Producers. If you see names like Spector, Martin, or Rubin (referring to Phil Spector, George Martin, and Rick Rubin), Eno is the missing piece of that puzzle. He’s the guy who helped U2 find their "Joshua Tree" sound and worked with David Bowie on the legendary Berlin Trilogy.
But it gets weirder. Sometimes the connection isn't about people. It's about Palindromes.
E-N-O. It’s one of the few three-letter names that pops up in word games because it’s short, vowel-heavy, and easy to tuck into a corner. If you see Level, Kayak, and Mom, Eno is likely the fourth. It’s a classic crossword trick that has migrated over to the Connections grid to trip up people who are looking for deeper thematic meanings when the answer is actually just structural.
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The Microsoft Connection You Probably Forgot
Here is the one that usually breaks people.
If the category is Sound Logos or Tech Startups, Eno is a sneaky candidate. Why? Because Brian Eno composed "The Microsoft Sound." You know it. That six-second shimmering orchestral swell that played whenever Windows 95 started up.
There is a hilarious bit of trivia here that feels like a Connections clue in itself: Eno actually composed that iconic Windows sound on a Macintosh. He hated PCs at the time. He said in interviews that the process was like making a tiny little jewel. If you see Intel (for their chime) or Netflix (for the "ta-dum"), Eno is your man.
Crosswordese Bleeding into Connections
If you’ve spent any time doing the NYT Crossword, you’ve seen Eno a thousand times. In the world of word puzzles, we call this "Crosswordese." These are words that appear frequently because their letter combinations are a godsend for puzzle constructors.
- Erie (The lake)
- Aide (The assistant)
- Eno (The musician)
- Area (The space)
Because Connections is designed by the same minds that curate the Crossword, they often use these "filler" words but give them a new, more difficult context. In a crossword, the clue might be "Ambient music pioneer Brian." In Connections, they just give you the name and expect you to know he fits into a category like Art Rock Pioneers or Experimental Musicians.
It’s a bit of a gatekeeping move, honestly. It rewards people who have a specific kind of 1970s British rock knowledge or a deep familiarity with puzzle history.
Common Categories Where Eno Pops Up
You have to look at the surrounding words. If you're stuck, try to see if Eno fits into any of these "sneaky" themes that have appeared in past puzzles or similar games:
1. The "Oblique Strategies" Connection
Eno and artist Peter Schmidt created a deck of cards called Oblique Strategies. Each card has a cryptic suggestion to help artists break creative blocks (like "Honor thy error as a hidden intention"). If you see words like Strategy, Deck, or Dilemma, keep Brian Eno in mind.
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2. Members of Roxy Music
This is a harder "Purple" category. If you see Ferry (Bryan Ferry), Mackay (Andy Mackay), or Manzanera (Phil Manzanera), Eno is the fourth member. This is a classic "trap" category because Ferry and Eno are both common words in English outside of being surnames.
3. Ambient Music Terms
Eno literally coined the term "Ambient Music." If the grid has words like Drone, Texture, or Atmosphere, he’s likely the link.
How to Beat the Puzzle When You See Eno
Don't click it immediately. That’s the mistake.
Eno is often used as a red herring. The editors might put "Eno" in the grid alongside "Tide" and "Oxi" to make you think of Laundry Detergents (playing off the brand Eno, which is a popular antacid/household name in some countries, though less so in the US). Or they might put it near "Ions" and "Atoms" to make you think of science.
The best way to handle it is to solve the other three categories first. Eno is rarely part of the "Yellow" (easiest) category. It’s almost always Blue or Purple.
If you're looking at the word and you're still confused, ask yourself if the other words have anything to do with Windows, U2, Bowie, or Palindromes. If they don't, then Eno is likely acting as a "namesake" for something much more obscure.
Sometimes, it’s not even about the man. In very rare cases, puzzles have used "Eno" to refer to the Eno River in North Carolina or the Eno antacid brand. But 99% of the time in the NYT ecosystem, it’s Brian.
Actionable Tips for Your Next Grid
Stop overthinking the three-letter words. Usually, the shorter the word in Connections, the more heavy lifting it's doing for a difficult category.
- Check for Palindromes first. If you see Eno, Civic, Radar, and Kay-yak, you’re done.
- Think Producers. If there are names you recognize from album credits, group them.
- Look for "The." Eno’s most famous solo work is Music for Airports. Sometimes "Airport" is in the grid, and "Eno" is the hidden link.
- Watch for the "Hidden Name" trick. Occasionally, "Eno" is hidden inside other words, though Connections usually prefers the words to stand alone as concepts.
Next time you see those three letters, don't let them rattle you. It’s just Brian Eno, the guy who made your computer go "ping" in 1995, waiting for you to recognize his contribution to the world of avant-garde pop.
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Keep your remaining guesses for the "Purple" category. If you can identify that Eno is the outlier, you've basically won the day. Go back to your cold coffee and finish the grid. You've got this.