No hay es que ni pero que valga (No hay (ni) pero que valga)

No hay es que ni pero que valga (No hay (ni) pero que valga)
 

Here is another phrase from Tintin comic book.

CONTEXT: Captain is yelling at Tintin.

PHRASE: No hay es que ni pero que valga.

This is a tough one to translate!

It depends on a wider context, but it seems a so-so translation of something equivalent to "no ifs, ands or buts"

I think you will find more commonly "no hay (ni) pero que valga", which means something like "there is no excuse".

Okay, thanks.

I thought "valga" means "to be worth something".

How did you arrive at that?

The verb "valer" also conveys the idea that something is useful. That's how it's used in this expression. :)

Here valer means "be used as a defense or protection":

no hay excusa que valga
no le valdrá su amistad con el juez