Flimsy article, short (4)
I believe the answer is:
thin
'flimsy' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'article short' is the wordplay.
'article' becomes 'thing' (I've seen this before).
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'thing' with its final letter removed is 'THIN'.
(Other definitions for thin that I've seen before include "Sparse; not dense" , "Measure" , "Dilute; lean" , "Lean; make (plants) less crowded" , "Spare" .)