jQuery: find() children until a certain threshold element is encountered

Answer 1

eh, i have a better idea..

var badTable = "table.bad"; //the one you want to avoid
var $goodInputs = $("#first").find('input').filter(function() {
    return $(this).closest(badTable).length == 0;
});

this may or may not be fast enough for you. it depends on your DOM which you do not want to talk about ;)

if its slow, just write the code for your algorithm by hand. There isnt a selector shortcut.