Thanks all for the great information!
So, the true "flimsy" is a light-weight one time use tin can that you pried an un-threaded lid off, or punched a hole into, emptied the contents and threw away.
The other type is much heavier construction with a male-threaded removable cap......both types referred to as a "flimsy".
Here's a link to a website I found showing the cans that are still littering the western desert.
http://www.qattara.it/60-99%20taniche.html
Don't mean to bore y'all with a discussion on tin petrol cans, but I find this stuff interesting.
Thanks again, David