// the usual way
var item = $(this).parent().parent().find('input');
$(item).hide(); // this is a double wrap, but required for code readability
item.hide(); // this works but is very unclear how a jQuery function is getting called on this
// with $ prefix
var $item = $(this).parent().parent().find('input');
$item.hide(); // direct call is clear
$($item).hide(); // this works too, but isn't necessary