$.find() vs $(selector).find()
Here shows that $.find returns a JS Object while $(selector).find() returns jQuery Object
by RaphaelDDL
HTML
<ul class="find1">
<li><a href="">link</a></li>
<li><a href="" class="someClass">link</a></li>
<li><a href="">link</a></li>
<li><a href="" class="someClass">link</a></li>
<li><a href="">link</a></li>
</ul>
<hr />
<ul class="find2">
<li><a href="">link</a></li>
<li><a href="" class="someClass">link</a></li>
<li><a href="">link</a></li>
<li><a href="" class="someClass">link</a></li>
<li><a href="">link</a></li>
</ul>
JavaScript
var find1 = $('.find1').find('a.someClass');
console.log(find1); //See it's a jQuery Object because have prevObject, context and other attributes
find1.css({'color':'red'});
var find2 = $.find('.find2 a.someClass');
console.log(find2); //just plain JS Object (Array)
//dont work, find2 isn't a jQuery Object
//error: Uncaught TypeError: Object [object Array] has no method 'css'
find2.css({'color':'blue'}); //<---comment this line to see below js works
//since find2 is a JS Object, you can use plain JS to get the array position [] and className property
console.log(find2[0].className);
//To work with jQ, you need to wrap your JS OBJECT into jQuery $() so it becomes a jQuery Object again
$(find2).css({'color':'blue'});