Saturday 19 September 2026

How it works

Every witness is either honest or a liar. An honest witness only says true things, and a liar only says false ones, like the knights and knaves in Raymond Smullyan's puzzles. Each of them makes one statement below. Your job is to mark every witness honest or liar so that all the statements hold up together. Exactly one way of doing that works, and you can reach it by reasoning alone: try a guess, follow what it forces, and drop it the moment two statements clash.

The statements

1. The PrinterIf the Typist is honest, then so is the Butler.
2. The ChemistThe Butcher is honest.
3. The ButlerAt least six of us are liars.
4. The GardenerAt most one of us is a liar.
5. The ShepherdThe Printer and I are the same kind.
6. The TypistThe Chemist and I are different kinds.
7. The ButcherIf the Printer is honest, then so is the Gardener.