delaying actions between keypress in jQuery

Question

How can I delay actions between keypress in jQuery. For example;

I have something like this

 if($(this).val().length > 1){
   $.post(\"stuff.php\"         


        

Answer 1

Nick's answer is perfect but if handling first event immediately is critical then I think we can do:

$(selector).keyup(function(e){ //or another event

    if($(this).val().length > 1){
        if !($.data(this, 'bouncing-locked')) {

            $.data(this, 'bouncing-locked', true)

            $.post("stuff.php", {nStr: "" + $(this).val() + ""}, function(data){
                if(data.length > 0) {
                    $('#suggestions').show();
                    $('#autoSuggestionsList').html(data);
                }else{
                    $('#suggestions').hide();
                }
           });

            self = this
            setTimeout(function() {
                $.data(self, 'bouncing-locked', false);

                //in case the last event matters, be sure not to miss it
                $(this).trigger("keyup"); // call again the source event
            }, 500)
        }
    }
});