diff --git a/MANIFEST b/MANIFEST
index 38f5da2857f..6f0e95e8c7e 100644
--- a/MANIFEST
+++ b/MANIFEST
@@ -3972,6 +3972,7 @@ ext/XS-APItest/t/gv_fetchmeth_autoload.t	XS::APItest: tests for gv_fetchmeth_aut
 ext/XS-APItest/t/gv_fetchmethod_flags.t	XS::APItest: tests for gv_fetchmethod_flags() and variants
 ext/XS-APItest/t/gv_fetchmeth.t		XS::APItest: tests for gv_fetchmeth() and variants
 ext/XS-APItest/t/gv_init.t	XS::APItest: tests for gv_init and variants
+ext/XS-APItest/t/handy.t	XS::APItest: tests for handy.h
 ext/XS-APItest/t/hash.t		XS::APItest: tests for hash related APIs
 ext/XS-APItest/t/keyword_multiline.t	test keyword plugin parsing across lines
 ext/XS-APItest/t/keyword_plugin.t	test keyword plugin mechanism
diff --git a/embed.fnc b/embed.fnc
index c16dde81083..fa147504283 100644
--- a/embed.fnc
+++ b/embed.fnc
@@ -594,6 +594,7 @@ ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_alnum	|UV c
 ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_idfirst	|UV c
 ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_alpha	|UV c
 ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_ascii	|UV c
+ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_blank	|UV c
 ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_space	|UV c
 ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_cntrl	|UV c
 ApPR	|bool	|is_uni_graph	|UV c
@@ -645,6 +646,7 @@ ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_idcont	|NN const U8 *p
 ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_xidcont	|NN const U8 *p
 ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_alpha	|NN const U8 *p
 ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_ascii	|NN const U8 *p
+ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_blank	|NN const U8 *p
 ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_space	|NN const U8 *p
 ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_perl_space	|NN const U8 *p
 ApR	|bool	|is_utf8_perl_word	|NN const U8 *p
diff --git a/embed.h b/embed.h
index 720e2531b2a..a4f7e45814a 100644
--- a/embed.h
+++ b/embed.h
@@ -226,6 +226,7 @@
 #define is_uni_alpha_lc(a)	Perl_is_uni_alpha_lc(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_uni_ascii(a)		Perl_is_uni_ascii(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_uni_ascii_lc(a)	Perl_is_uni_ascii_lc(aTHX_ a)
+#define is_uni_blank(a)		Perl_is_uni_blank(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_uni_cntrl(a)		Perl_is_uni_cntrl(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_uni_cntrl_lc(a)	Perl_is_uni_cntrl_lc(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_uni_digit(a)		Perl_is_uni_digit(aTHX_ a)
@@ -249,6 +250,7 @@
 #define is_utf8_alnum(a)	Perl_is_utf8_alnum(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_utf8_alpha(a)	Perl_is_utf8_alpha(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_utf8_ascii(a)	Perl_is_utf8_ascii(aTHX_ a)
+#define is_utf8_blank(a)	Perl_is_utf8_blank(aTHX_ a)
 #define is_utf8_char		Perl_is_utf8_char
 #define is_utf8_char_buf	Perl_is_utf8_char_buf
 #define is_utf8_cntrl(a)	Perl_is_utf8_cntrl(aTHX_ a)
diff --git a/embedvar.h b/embedvar.h
index 3922855eda9..98efa6f22c8 100644
--- a/embedvar.h
+++ b/embedvar.h
@@ -368,6 +368,7 @@
 #define PL_utf8_X_prepend	(vTHX->Iutf8_X_prepend)
 #define PL_utf8_alnum		(vTHX->Iutf8_alnum)
 #define PL_utf8_alpha		(vTHX->Iutf8_alpha)
+#define PL_utf8_blank		(vTHX->Iutf8_blank)
 #define PL_utf8_digit		(vTHX->Iutf8_digit)
 #define PL_utf8_foldable	(vTHX->Iutf8_foldable)
 #define PL_utf8_foldclosures	(vTHX->Iutf8_foldclosures)
diff --git a/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.pm b/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.pm
index 0eff22eea14..929bf490a5d 100644
--- a/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.pm
+++ b/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.pm
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ use strict;
 use warnings;
 use Carp;
 
-our $VERSION = '0.40';
+our $VERSION = '0.41';
 
 require XSLoader;
 
diff --git a/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.xs b/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.xs
index 69b706613b7..8138ad585dd 100644
--- a/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.xs
+++ b/ext/XS-APItest/APItest.xs
@@ -3456,3 +3456,17 @@ test_get_vtbl()
 	RETVAL = PTR2UV(get_vtbl(-1));
     OUTPUT:
 	RETVAL
+
+bool
+test_isBLANK_uni(UV ord)
+    CODE:
+        RETVAL = isBLANK_uni(ord);
+    OUTPUT:
+        RETVAL
+
+bool
+test_isBLANK_utf8(char * p)
+    CODE:
+        RETVAL = isBLANK_utf8((U8 *) p);
+    OUTPUT:
+        RETVAL
diff --git a/ext/XS-APItest/t/handy.t b/ext/XS-APItest/t/handy.t
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..48eb5b9494a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ext/XS-APItest/t/handy.t
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+#!perl -w
+
+use strict;
+use Test::More;
+
+use XS::APItest;
+
+ok(test_isBLANK_uni(ord("\N{EM SPACE}")), "EM SPACE is blank in isBLANK_uni()");
+ok(test_isBLANK_utf8("\N{EM SPACE}"), "EM SPACE is blank in isBLANK_utf8()");
+
+ok(! test_isBLANK_uni(ord("\N{GREEK DASIA}")), "GREEK DASIA is not a blank in isBLANK_uni()");
+ok(! test_isBLANK_utf8("\N{GREEK DASIA}"), "GREEK DASIA is not a blank in isBLANK_utf8()");
+
+done_testing;
diff --git a/handy.h b/handy.h
index abfc2c2f46f..198ea0c7089 100644
--- a/handy.h
+++ b/handy.h
@@ -912,6 +912,7 @@ EXTCONST U32 PL_charclass[];
 /* Note that all ignore 'use bytes' */
 
 #define isALNUM_uni(c)		generic_uni(isWORDCHAR, is_uni_alnum, c)
+#define isBLANK_uni(c)		generic_uni(isBLANK, is_uni_blank, c)
 #define isIDFIRST_uni(c)        generic_uni(isIDFIRST, is_uni_idfirst, c)
 #define isALPHA_uni(c)		generic_uni(isALPHA, is_uni_alpha, c)
 #define isSPACE_uni(c)		generic_uni(isSPACE, is_uni_space, c)
@@ -932,7 +933,6 @@ EXTCONST U32 PL_charclass[];
 
 /* Posix and regular space differ only in U+000B, which is in Latin1 */
 #define isPSXSPC_uni(c)		((c) < 256 ? isPSXSPC_L1(c) : isSPACE_uni(c))
-#define isBLANK_uni(c)		isBLANK(c) /* could be wrong */
 
 #define isALNUM_LC_uvchr(c)	(c < 256 ? isALNUM_LC(c) : is_uni_alnum_lc(c))
 #define isIDFIRST_LC_uvchr(c)	(c < 256 ? isIDFIRST_LC(c) : is_uni_idfirst_lc(c))
@@ -981,6 +981,7 @@ EXTCONST U32 PL_charclass[];
                                   : Perl__is_utf8__perl_idstart(aTHX_ p))
 #define isIDCONT_utf8(p)	generic_utf8(isWORDCHAR, is_utf8_xidcont, p)
 #define isALPHA_utf8(p)		generic_utf8(isALPHA, is_utf8_alpha, p)
+#define isBLANK_utf8(p)		generic_utf8(isBLANK, is_utf8_blank, p)
 #define isSPACE_utf8(p)		generic_utf8(isSPACE, is_utf8_space, p)
 #define isDIGIT_utf8(p)		generic_utf8(isDIGIT, is_utf8_digit, p)
 #define isUPPER_utf8(p)		generic_utf8(isUPPER, is_utf8_upper, p)
@@ -1004,11 +1005,10 @@ EXTCONST U32 PL_charclass[];
 				  ? isPSXSPC_L1(TWO_BYTE_UTF8_TO_UNI(*(p),     \
                                                                      *((p)+1)))\
                                   : isSPACE_utf8(p)))
-#define isBLANK_utf8(c)		isBLANK(c) /* could be wrong */
-
 #define isALNUM_LC_utf8(p)	isALNUM_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
 #define isIDFIRST_LC_utf8(p)	isIDFIRST_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
 #define isALPHA_LC_utf8(p)	isALPHA_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
+#define isBLANK_LC_utf8(p)	isBLANK_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
 #define isSPACE_LC_utf8(p)	isSPACE_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
 #define isDIGIT_LC_utf8(p)	isDIGIT_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
 #define isUPPER_LC_utf8(p)	isUPPER_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
@@ -1020,7 +1020,6 @@ EXTCONST U32 PL_charclass[];
 #define isPUNCT_LC_utf8(p)	isPUNCT_LC_uvchr(valid_utf8_to_uvchr(p,  0))
 
 #define isPSXSPC_LC_utf8(c)	(isSPACE_LC_utf8(c) ||(c) == '\f')
-#define isBLANK_LC_utf8(c)	isBLANK(c) /* could be wrong */
 
 /* This conversion works both ways, strangely enough. On EBCDIC platforms,
  * CTRL-@ is 0, CTRL-A is 1, etc, just like on ASCII */
diff --git a/intrpvar.h b/intrpvar.h
index ffcac0833a8..3e9600f2d43 100644
--- a/intrpvar.h
+++ b/intrpvar.h
@@ -614,6 +614,7 @@ PERLVAR(I, VertSpace,   SV *)
 /* utf8 character class swashes */
 PERLVAR(I, utf8_alnum,	SV *)
 PERLVAR(I, utf8_alpha,	SV *)
+PERLVAR(I, utf8_blank,	SV *)
 PERLVAR(I, utf8_space,	SV *)
 PERLVAR(I, utf8_graph,	SV *)
 PERLVAR(I, utf8_digit,	SV *)
diff --git a/perl.c b/perl.c
index 4348954dec6..71e958a0fb7 100644
--- a/perl.c
+++ b/perl.c
@@ -991,6 +991,7 @@ perl_destruct(pTHXx)
     /* clear utf8 character classes */
     SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_alnum);
     SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_alpha);
+    SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_blank);
     SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_space);
     SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_graph);
     SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_digit);
@@ -1009,6 +1010,7 @@ perl_destruct(pTHXx)
     SvREFCNT_dec(PL_utf8_foldclosures);
     PL_utf8_alnum	= NULL;
     PL_utf8_alpha	= NULL;
+    PL_utf8_blank	= NULL;
     PL_utf8_space	= NULL;
     PL_utf8_graph	= NULL;
     PL_utf8_digit	= NULL;
diff --git a/proto.h b/proto.h
index 272f4868086..97524902a59 100644
--- a/proto.h
+++ b/proto.h
@@ -1673,6 +1673,10 @@ PERL_CALLCONV bool	Perl_is_uni_ascii_lc(pTHX_ UV c)
 			__attribute__warn_unused_result__
 			__attribute__pure__;
 
+PERL_CALLCONV bool	Perl_is_uni_blank(pTHX_ UV c)
+			__attribute__warn_unused_result__
+			__attribute__pure__;
+
 PERL_CALLCONV bool	Perl_is_uni_cntrl(pTHX_ UV c)
 			__attribute__warn_unused_result__
 			__attribute__pure__;
@@ -1831,6 +1835,12 @@ PERL_CALLCONV bool	Perl_is_utf8_ascii(pTHX_ const U8 *p)
 #define PERL_ARGS_ASSERT_IS_UTF8_ASCII	\
 	assert(p)
 
+PERL_CALLCONV bool	Perl_is_utf8_blank(pTHX_ const U8 *p)
+			__attribute__warn_unused_result__
+			__attribute__nonnull__(pTHX_1);
+#define PERL_ARGS_ASSERT_IS_UTF8_BLANK	\
+	assert(p)
+
 PERL_CALLCONV STRLEN	Perl_is_utf8_char(const U8 *s)
 			__attribute__deprecated__
 			__attribute__nonnull__(1);
diff --git a/sv.c b/sv.c
index 7146f386880..8b054c1b173 100644
--- a/sv.c
+++ b/sv.c
@@ -13443,6 +13443,7 @@ perl_clone_using(PerlInterpreter *proto_perl, UV flags,
     /* utf8 character class swashes */
     PL_utf8_alnum	= sv_dup_inc(proto_perl->Iutf8_alnum, param);
     PL_utf8_alpha	= sv_dup_inc(proto_perl->Iutf8_alpha, param);
+    PL_utf8_blank	= sv_dup_inc(proto_perl->Iutf8_blank, param);
     PL_utf8_space	= sv_dup_inc(proto_perl->Iutf8_space, param);
     PL_utf8_graph	= sv_dup_inc(proto_perl->Iutf8_graph, param);
     PL_utf8_digit	= sv_dup_inc(proto_perl->Iutf8_digit, param);
diff --git a/utf8.c b/utf8.c
index 510db6c2ffc..2592728e6b5 100644
--- a/utf8.c
+++ b/utf8.c
@@ -1509,6 +1509,14 @@ Perl_is_uni_ascii(pTHX_ UV c)
     return isASCII(c);
 }
 
+bool
+Perl_is_uni_blank(pTHX_ UV c)
+{
+    U8 tmpbuf[UTF8_MAXBYTES+1];
+    uvchr_to_utf8(tmpbuf, c);
+    return is_utf8_blank(tmpbuf);
+}
+
 bool
 Perl_is_uni_space(pTHX_ UV c)
 {
@@ -1829,6 +1837,12 @@ Perl_is_uni_ascii_lc(pTHX_ UV c)
     return is_uni_ascii(c);	/* XXX no locale support yet */
 }
 
+bool
+Perl_is_uni_blank_lc(pTHX_ UV c)
+{
+    return is_uni_blank(c);	/* XXX no locale support yet */
+}
+
 bool
 Perl_is_uni_space_lc(pTHX_ UV c)
 {
@@ -2035,6 +2049,16 @@ Perl_is_utf8_ascii(pTHX_ const U8 *p)
     return isASCII(*p);
 }
 
+bool
+Perl_is_utf8_blank(pTHX_ const U8 *p)
+{
+    dVAR;
+
+    PERL_ARGS_ASSERT_IS_UTF8_BLANK;
+
+    return is_utf8_common(p, &PL_utf8_blank, "XPosixBlank");
+}
+
 bool
 Perl_is_utf8_space(pTHX_ const U8 *p)
 {