[jQuery] "id" is not a function?

[[EMAIL PROTECTED]]

Hi,

I have this expression

var parentElt = $("#newTabText").parents("td.topTab:first");
alert(parentElt.id());

and I'm getting a JS error on the second line, "id" is not a
function.  I have verified, through another alert statement, that
"parentElt" is non-empty, contains a value, and has an "id"
attribute.  What expression should I write to get the proper id?

Thanks, - Dave