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The distribution of size as a function of age observed for star clusters inthe Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is very puzzling: young clusters are allcompact, while the oldest systems show both small and large sizes. It iscommonly interpreted as due to a population of binary black holes driving aprogressive expansion of cluster cores. Here we propose, instead, that it isthe natural consequence of the fact that only relatively low-mass clusters haveformed in the last ~3 Gyr in the LMC and only the most compact systems survivedand are observable. The spread in size displayed by the oldest (and mostmassive) clusters, instead, can be explained in terms of initial conditions andinternal dynamical evolution. To quantitatively explore the role of the latter,we selected a sample of five coeval and old LMC clusters with different sizes,and we estimated their dynamical age from the level of central segregation ofblue straggler stars (the so-called dynamical clock). Similarly to what foundin the Milky Way, we indeed measure different levels of dynamical evolutionamong the selected coeval clusters, with large-core systems being dynamicallyyounger than those with small size. This behaviour is fully consistent withwhat expected from internal dynamical evolution processes over timescalesmainly set by the structure of each system at formation.

Size diversity of old Large Magellanic Cloud clusters as determined by internal dynamical evolution