combine two jquery select statements

Question

how can i merge the results of two select statments with jquery?

for example i have

var previous = $(this).prev('td');
var next = $(this).next('td');

how do i then combine the two sets of results into one?

Answer 1

var all = $.merge(previous, next);

Answer 2

Try:

var all=$(this).prev('td').add( $(this).next('td') );

Answer 3

You can use empty collection

var previous = $(this).prev('td'),
    next = $(this).next('td'),
    buttons = $().add(previous).add(next);

Example: http://jsfiddle.net/UBnMm/

Alternatively:

var buttons = $(this).prev('td').add($(this).next('td'));