 <p>The convoluted way :</p> <pre><code>var t = setTimeout((function(that){ return function(){ jQuery(that).find("ul.topnavsub").hide(); console.log(that); } })(this), 1000); </code></pre> <p>The less-cool-but-still-works-(-and-is-probably-more-readable-) way :</p> <pre><code>var that = this; var t = setTimeout(function(){ jQuery(that).find("ul.topnavsub").hide(); console.log(that); }, 1000); </code></pre>