$this vs $(this) in jQuery
<p>I've seen some discussions on SO regarding <strong><code>$(this)</code></strong> vs <strong><code>$this</code></strong> in jQuery, and they make sense to me. (See <a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1051782/jquery-this-vs-this">discussion here</a> for an example.)</p>

<p>But what about the snippet below, from the jQuery website plugin tutorial showing how chainability works?</p>

<pre><code>(function ($) {

    $.fn.lockDimensions = function (type) {

        return this.each(function () {

            var $this = $(this);

            if (!type || type == 'width') {
                $this.width($this.width());
            }

            if (!type || type == 'height') {
                $this.height($this.height());
            }

        });

    };
})(jQuery);
</code></pre>

<p>What does <code>$this</code> represent above?  Just when I think I have it figured out ...</p>
