jQuery .wrap() not wrapping around a cloned element

Answer 1

The confusing part is that .wrap() returns the inner element, not the parent element.

So you have to use the parent object of the wrapped one as follows:

var $divA= $("
").addClass('classA'),
    $divB= $("
").addClass('classB');

console.log( $divA.wrap($divB).parent() );

($divA.parent() is equal to $divB after the wrapping)

So the key part is that $divA.wrap($divB) returns $divA, NOT $divB

see the reference:

This method returns the original set of elements for chaining purposes.

Please note: The elements DON'T have to be in the DOM, jQuery can operate on them without them already having been inserted into the DOM.