[jQuery] load question

[jQuery] load question


i'm stuck on a pretty basic concept.
on hovers of a's, i'm trying to load an element from another page by
url and id into a display div. i'm trying to get those 2 bits of info
from the triggering a. i'm close: the product matches a hard coded
string, but doesn't load (the way the hard coded version does)
any tips at all (other than "consult the docs"--i've tried, i'm
learning.) on doing this, or streamlining my caveman work will be
insanely appreciated. thanks!
$(document).ready(function() {
    var defHref;
    var defHrefSplit;
    var defUrl;
    var defId;
    var defList;
     $("a").hover(
        // over
     function () {
         defHref = $(this).attr("href");
        defHrefSplit = defHref.split('#');
        defUrl = defHrefSplit[0];
        defId = "#"+defHrefSplit[1];
        $("#display").append("<span id='def'></span>");
// seems to eval correctly, but doesn't work
        $("#def").load(defUrl defId));
// the hard coded version (works)
        //$("#def").load("dictionary.html #puppy");
     },
        // out
     function () {
        $("#display").find("#def").remove();
     }
     );
});
an example a tag:
<a href="dictionary.html#puppies">puppies</a>
dev url:
http://root-interactive.com/problems/