SO fiddle

Test Fiddle mainly for SO Questions

by Nick Craver

HTML

<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1.8.4/themes/overcast/jquery-ui.css">
<li>
<a href=''>Example</a>&nbsp;<a href='' class='sub'>Edit</a>&nbsp;<a href='' class='sub'>Delete</a>
</li>

JavaScript

$('li a:first-child').each(function() {
    $(this).parent().html(this);
});