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I found this in a book and have no inkling of what it can mean, and nothing in dictionaries to help me understand. Any ideas?

Сама знаю, что зря. Мужика у меня уже Святая Дева знает сколько не было. С тех пор, как год назад Альберто убили. И уж если с кем пойти, так с этим русским, он мне, в общем-то, давно нравится. Что-то в нем такое есть, отличающее от остальных кобелей, которые вьются вокруг медперсонала. Хотя кобель он, конечно, изрядный, одна морда чего стоит. Но дело не в морде, а вот в чем – пока не пойму.

shabunc
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CocoPop
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  • Something like "just look at his ugly face", here "морда" means "ugly face". Not sure if it is always "ugly", anyway морда is a word for animal's face not for human's. But such usage is quite common, e.g. "Я тебе морду набью" means "I will smash your face". – Artemix Sep 02 '16 at 15:26
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    "Одно XXX чего стоит" is a very common phrase. It means "Just XXX is enough". "Морда" = "muzzle". – Matt Sep 02 '16 at 17:08
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    In this case, not "ugly", rather self-confident. Means, he knows that he is successful with women and one can read this from his face. – ddbug Sep 02 '16 at 22:00

4 Answers4

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Хотя кобель он, конечно, изрядный, одна морда чего стоит.

It's slangy.And it's quite rude.It means something like the following.

Though he is indeed a tomcat with an ugly mug like his.

V.V.
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this is a fixed phrase

Хотя кобель он, конечно, изрядный, одна морда чего стоит.

he's a dog, the muzzle alone is that of a dog

чего стоит is in fact a rhetoric question which implies that an object figuratively is obviously worth a lot (стоить = be worth) or has a certain quality to the highest degree as if being worth many items possessing that quality

  1. Вы используете выражение чего стоит, если хотите подчеркнуть чрезвычайную ценность чего-либо: А чего стоила записка великой императрицы, собственноручно начертавшей всего два слова, но зато каких! | Чего стоит одна её улыбка!

  2. Вы используете выражение чего стоит, если хотите подчеркнуть своё возмущение и негодование по поводу чего-либо: Одни только анонимные письма чего стоят!

source

Баян Купи-ка
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    he's a dog По-английски это скорее соответствует "he's a wolf". Хотя вроде бы "wolf" звучит не настолько уничижительно как "кобель". – Matt Sep 02 '16 at 17:41
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    alright, i used an American slang equivalent – Баян Купи-ка Sep 02 '16 at 17:46
  • "Muzzle" might be replaced with "mug" because even though the author is using the dog metaphor, кобель also more or less translates as "a player or ladies man". A muzzle can only be a part of a dog, a mug can be either part of a dog or a human. – the_darkside Feb 20 '17 at 03:32
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Literally, with no ornamentation: just look at his face, and you'll understand.

«Морда» is just a rude way of saying «a face»: «я ему морду набью» = “I'll smash his face in”. «Я сделал морду кирпичом» = “I made a blank face” (in response to something). Originally, it refers to an animal's “face” (a cat's, a dog's, a horse's, a lion's, anything), but when attributed to a person, it just means a human face, period. No other connotation.

“Price” refers to the possibility of making a judgment. Something is as valuable as it is useful in drawing conclusions. The woman states (by asking a rhetorical question, as you've been told by the others) that the look of his face is worth a lot in this “currency”, as these looks immediately evoke the right impression of him. Maybe, though, she also has other arguments besides his face to draw the conclusion that he indeed likes to chase women. On this, she appears silent. In fact, she says she doesn't really understand what she thinks.

So we have (leaving stylistics aside):

Right, I had no reason to do this. I haven't had a man for a long time. Never since they killed Alberto, and that was a year ago. If I go out with anyone, I would prefer this Russian: I've liked him for quite some time now. There's something about him that makes him stand out among all other womanizers that court the medical personnel. Although he's quite the womanizer, as well: just look at his face, and you'll get that idea. His face is not the real reason, though; what is the reason, I don't yet understand.

In the last sentence, she's probably referring to the reason she likes him.

Evgeniy
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Кобель (male dog) here means a man preying on women all the time, like some dirty animal (goat, etc.); изрядный emphasizes that definition and means smth. like outstanding, extraordinary. The expression одна морда чего стоит means that just by a look at his ugly face (which is a real dog muzzle) one can tell the previously given definition is true. Literally, it's worth looking at his face (his muzzle is worth looking at): you'll understand all that immediately.

Alex_ander
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